Inside Denver’s Athmar Recreation Center on a recent weekday morning, a cheer squad worked up an appetite, practicing their cheers and stunts. After that, recreation supervisor April DeLeon ensured the girls were fed.
“So who’s ready for breakfast? All right!” Deleon asked as she unloaded a basket of fruit.
The breakfast is part of a recently launched meal program in city of Denver. With “Tasty Food,” all kids ages 3 to 18 years old are receiving meals this summer for free. Fresh, low-fat breakfast and lunch are served at select sites.
“It really helps me with my strongness,” Ariel Aven said with a smile.
“When I eat a good breakfast, I feel proud of myself,” Scarlett Garcia added.
The meals run through August, and anyone can participate on a first-come, first-serve basis. No ID or registration is required.
“Our hope is that accessing meals we can provide some relief for families so their financial resources can stretch,” said Andrea Garcia Schoelzel, health Initiatives admin for Denver’s Office of Children’s Affairs.
For Julia Archuleta and her daughter, Onaaliyah Sanchez, “Tasty Food” is certainly doing that.
“We have four kids, so financially it’s always hard to put them in everything they want,” Archuleta explained. “So we found an opportunity, and we’re loving it. We don’t always have breakfast, so when there’s programs like this, we can be like, “Oh, let’s go over here and make a pit stop, and it’s free. That’s the best part.”
And the best part for DeLeon is helping nurture these kids in both body and mind.
“Sometimes, I don’t know if it’s their last meal of the day — if the kids are going to get any food in the afternoon because it’s so expensive, and families are struggling out there,” DeLeon said. “But doing this, I can say I made somebody smile; I made them infectious with my energy; I gave them a meal or a hug, or maybe no one said hello to them today.”
