El Centro Public Library offering free meals for kids during the summer

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - For over 40 years the El Centro Public Library has been offering free meals and activities for kids during the summer, and even during a global pandemic they are still committed to doing so.

Parents can come and pick and up hot meals and worksheets for their children Monday through Friday from 11 to noon.

Some of these worksheets even include a kid-friendly explanation of the coronavirus.

 In Imperial County, more than 44 percent of children are food insecure. 

Sometimes these meals are their only meals that day. 

“We live in a low-income community so the programs is “No kid left hungry” that's our motto and so we’re trying to provide a lunch for kids who can probably not get it at home or who cannot get all 3 meals and at least we know they’re getting one from us,” said Enriqueta Nunez, library employee.  

“So we know that it’s a meal like at school they have that meal secured and we like doing that here in the library they can come to use our services but also have that one meal a day secured,” said Nidia Venegas, library employee.

Having a secured meal also eases the stress for families who may be fighting the virus. 

“We don’t know the situation of the parents, we don’t know what is going on at home they might have a sibling who is sick, who might have the disease so we don’t know how their family is running so at least that burden is being taken off by having their children come and get a meal from us, a packet from us to do activities at home so that helps them with all the problems going around.”

The El Centro public library offers many programs for children and adults even during these.

http://www.cityofelcentro.org/library/