When mom of five, Trinh, knows the Lunch Lab will be visiting the library near her Fort Collins home, it makes a summer afternoon that much more carefree for her and her kids.
“I can just walk out of the house with a bottle of water,” she said.
The Lunch Lab is a food truck for kids that provides free meals for all youth 18 and under. Service begins on May 26 in Loveland and on May 28 in Fort Collins and Wellington. There is no ID or sign up required. The truck visits libraries, schools and neighborhoods across Larimer County to distribute the meals. Lunches will be served all summer, with August 14 being the last day of service for all locations.
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The meal distribution is an extension of the USDA’s school lunch program to help provide access to no-cost meals to all kids throughout the summer.
In addition to lunch, the program works with community partners to provide fun and educational activities at the Lunch Lab’s stops. This includes partners, like Evie the Mobile Library, the Museum of Discovery and The Gardens on Spring Creek.
For Trinh, she likes to plan to pair the Lunch Lab with a fun summer activity for her kids — like visiting Old Town Library for story time and then grabbing lunch in the park.
At the same park outside Old Town Library last summer, Ryan said the Lunch Lab provided the chance to spend more time with his 2-year-old daughter, Capri. The high school teacher said he hadn’t used the Lunch Lab before. But when he saw the food truck for kids, he said he saw it as an opportunity to grab a meal and continue their play at the park, rather than returning home to get lunch.
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All meals for the Lunch Lab are made from scratch at the Food Bank for Larimer County’s Nutritious Kitchen. Lunches include kid-approved favorites that are as delicious as they are nutritious, like cheeseburgers, quesadillas, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Lunches are always served with a side of fruit and vegetables, as well as chocolate milk.
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To find out the Lunch Lab’s schedule and see what’s on the menu each week, visit thelunchlab.org! Please note that there will be no lunch service on July 3 for the upcoming July 4 holiday.
New this summer, the Lunch Lab will also be offering meals to adults for a low cost of $6. Meals for adults are available for purchase only through PayPal.
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