Letters to the Editor - Aug. 15, 2016

Dear Smoke Signals:

It has been the pleasure of the Willamina School District to provide summer meals, at no charge for all children that live within the community, during the summer months for the past 19 years.

The Summer Meal Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the Willamina School District to ensure that all children ages 1 to 18 have access to nutritious meals free of charge during the summer months when school meals are not available.

Hunger is one of the most severe roadblocks to the learning process. Lack of nutrition during the summer months may set up a cycle for poor performance once school begins again. Hunger also may make children more prone to illness and other health issues. The Summer Meal Program is designed to fill that nutrition gap and make sure children can get the nutritious meals they need.

We are grateful that the city of Willamina and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s Housing Department have agreed to allow the school district to use the parks for this federally funded program. We have chosen the areas of Raven Loop Park and Willamina's Tina Miller Park because we felt that these are pockets in our community where many of our students have convenient access to the meals provided by the school district.

The USDA/Willamina School District Summer Meal Program is open to all children. Participation does not require applications, pre-enrollment or proof of income. In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

We would like to thank the city of Willamina and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde for allowing the use of an area to serve these no-cost meals to all children of the Willamina-Grand Ronde community. We look forward to celebrating our 20th year of the summer program next year.

This institution is on equal opportunity provider.

Lynne Shore

Nutrition Services director,

Willamina School District