SEQUIM — For the second consecutive year, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula agency has received national recognition for a summer program that served 22,000 meals to children this year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that the clubs had won the Summer Sunshine Award.
“It’s a big award, especially to get it two years in a row,” said David Miller, director of the Sequim unit of the clubs, which also operates a unit in Port Angeles.
The program has won the award each year it has existed.
The North Olympic Peninsula organization was selected this year for replicating the Sequim summer meal model in Port Angeles and for its ability to attract volunteers to prepare and distribute meals, offer activities, and promote the program, the USDA said.
Volunteers distributed meals to low-income children at three locations in Sequim and six in Port Angeles last summer.
About 20 volunteers and six summer employees prepared the meals at kitchens in Sequim, then distributed them to the nine locations, Miller said.
Along with lunch, children 18 and younger were offered activities and games.
“It was the brainchild of our executive director, Mary Budke,” Miller said.
Budke worked with the USDA to determine sites for lunches, complete inspections, and establish the kitchen and volunteer program.
Three Summer Sunshine awards were given in Washington state to recognize individuals and groups who administer the summer food service program/seamless summer option.
Other Washington state award winners were Entiat Valley Community Services Food Bank, recognized for reaching rural and underserved communities, and the Des Moines Food Bank, recognized for successful community partnerships.
Auburn Unified School District received an honorable mention.
Clallam County has about a 50 percent rate for children who qualify for free or reduced lunches at public schools — qualifying the area for USDA funds to help provide meals to children whose families may be struggling to pay their bills, Miller said.
When school is out, the Summer Food Service Program helps fill the nutrition gap for children who may not get regular meals
“We provide proper nutrition and get food out to the kids,” Miller said.
In 2013, the first year, 17,000 meals were served at six locations, he said.
Three additional Port Angeles locations were opened in 2014, allowing an additional 5,000 meals to be served.
Planning has already begun for the 2015 summer meal program, Miller said.
“It’s a work in progress. We’re learning from mistakes we made in the first two years,” he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
