Keeping kids fed through the summer
Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) -The Summer Meal Program at the Club for Boys kicked off today in Rapid City.
Over the summer, it will provide free breakfast and lunch to kids 18 and under.
Thanks to a grant from the Black Hills Area Community Foundation, parents who come with their kids also receive a free meal this summer for the first time.
'If a parent doesn't want to bring their kids down for lunch, then sometimes those kids aren't going to eat. Hopefully, having that free meal is an incentive for parents to bring their kids to the site. So by providing that to have their kids eat and the parents eat so we're fulfilling a family need, not just the child's needs,' Assistant Executive Director Mark Kline said.
A few boys also work in the kitchen over the summer to learn new job skills, and many other boys sign up to volunteer and help in the cafeteria.
'I will be washing dishes, making sure it's all clean for the kids to use and then every once in a while I'll help serve dishes for them. I have fun while working here, and it makes me happy to see the kids are happy with the food they get to eat,' 2024 Boy of the Year Marrik Foster said.
These free meals can help with the food insecurity some families are experiencing.
'Having a place like the Club for Boys that are feeding anyone in the community, free lunch or breakfast, helps to make sure those kids get proper nutrition as well as get them through the day. We can't feed all meals during the day, but hopefully by feeding breakfast and lunch, then the parents after they get off work can feed their kids at night,' Kline said.
'The Club for Boys is a great place for everyone, because everyone is included. Everyone has fun and enjoys it, I know I do,' Foster said.
The Summer Meal Program will offer breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday, until August 8th.
Club memberships are also available for only $12, where boys ages 6-17 get to partake in all the club has to offer for a whole year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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