At least three Wayne County school districts and a summer park program are offering free summer meals just for kids and teens.
Cambridge City
Breakfast and lunch are available on weekdays starting June 2 at Western Wayne Elementary School, 801 E. Delaware St., Cambridge City.
Those seeking meals should enter door ES8 in the back parking lot.
Breakfast is from 8:30-9 a.m. and lunch is from 11:30 a.m. to noon.
No meals will be served June 30-July 4, and the program ends July 24.
For more information, call 765-478-3326 or email bhuddleston@wwayne.k12.in.us.
Hagerstown
Nettle Creek schools and its food service provider, Chartwells, are offering a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches through curbside pickup.
Parents/guardians of children ages 18 and younger can receive five breakfasts and five lunches per child between 12:30-1:30 p.m. Mondays. They’re available at Hagerstown Elementary, 299 N. Sycamore St., Hagerstown.
Meals will be available from June 2-July 28.
Children who aren’t enrolled at Nettle Creek need to be present with their adult for registration during the initial pickup. After enrollment, they don’t have to be present when grownups pick up their food.
Kids who attend daycare at the elementary and receive meals there won’t be eligible for curbside meals.
For more information, call 765-489-4555 or email kbush@nettlecreek.k12.in.us.
Richmond
Richmond Community Schools and Chartwells are offering free meals to all kids ages 0-18 from June 2-July 25.
Families can choose to pick up meals from RCS to eat at home. Or they can eat on site at one of three locations during the week.
The meal pickup site is RCS’ Food Services Department, behind Richmond High School, at 101 S.W. D St.
Staff are available from 9-11 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Mondays and Wednesdays, kids will receive two breakfasts and two lunches. On Fridays, they’ll receive three of each.
Signup for take-home meals is required. The form is available at wwn.to/rcsmeals25. Students already eating meals while enrolled in RCS summer programs aren’t eligible for take-home food.
The other option is to eat meals on site. Those foods are available on weekdays. No registration or commitment are needed. Participants can stop by as many days as they desire.
Charles Elementary School will offer breakfast from 8-8:30 a.m. and lunch from 1-1:30 p.m. at 2400 Reeveston Road.
Lunch will be available from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Cordell Municipal Pool, 9 S.W. 13th St., and from 1-2 p.m. at Glen Miller Park’s splash pad, 2200 E. Main St., Richmond.
Meals will not be available on June 19 or July 4.
For more information, call 765-973-3330 or find Food & Nutrition Services under Departments at werrichmond.com
Just Us Kids Outdoors
In addition, free lunches will be served to participants in Richmond Parks & Recreation’s no-cost Just Us Kids Outdoors and related programs. Registration is still open for that day camp.
JUKO, which is for kids entering grades 1-6, is available weekdays from June 2-July 11 (no camp on June 19 or July 4).
Sessions are offered from 9 a.m.-noon at Springwood Park (60 Waterfall Road) and Vaile Elementary (300 S. 14th St.), and from 1-4 p.m. at Glen Miller Park (2200 E. Main St.) and Mary Scott Park (101 N.W. Eighth St).
Little JUKO, for ages 3-5, runs from July 21-Aug. 2. It’s offered from 9-11:30 a.m. at Springwood and 12:30-3 p.m. at Mary Scott.
JUKO R.O.C.K.S. is an inclusive program for students of all abilities who are entering grades 1-9. It’s open from 12:30-3 p.m. July 21-Aug. 2 at Clear Creek Park (1201 W. Main St), which offers a sensory playground and garden designed for kids with autism or other sensory processing disorders or physical disabilities.
For more information, call 765-983-7275.
Additional meals/pantries
Several organizations around Wayne County serve free meals or offer food pantries for all ages.
Some are provided weekly, and some are monthly throughout the year.
Find our list online or call 765-973-9392.
A version of this article appeared in the May 28 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.