Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture partners with local organizations to provide nutrition and socialization to children when school is out; helping kids retain learning and skills they gained during the school year. For the last four years, Healthy Lincoln County has sponsored this program.

This year is a true collaborative effort as Healthy Lincoln County has teamed up with LincolnHealth's new Coulombe Center for Health Improvement to bring two new meal sites to the Boothbay region. Boothbay has been looking to have local sites of their own for quite some time. This year by bringing together the YMCA, AOS 98 school district and the Coulombe Center on board Healthy Lincoln County is able to serve the Boothbay region for the first time ever.

Each of the sites are very different, but both will be running all summer long, Monday through Friday. The first is at the YMCA's Camp Knickerbocker, which will have 150-plus campers each week. The second site is just down the road at Clifford Park, which is a town park with a covered eating area, playground and several ball fields for families and kids to play. Clifford Park will be just serving lunch daily.

All the meals for the Boothbay region are being prepared and delivered by AOS 98 staff member Dawn Murphy from Boothbay Region Elementary school. Dawn has experience both cooking school meals during the academic year and working at Camp K as a counselor, so she is a perfect fit for the job. You will also find Dawn serving lunches at Clifford Park- where kids who receive a meal can put their name into a weekly raffle drawing. Each Friday a winner is chosen and kids can receive anything from a new soccer ball to a new razor scooter.

Meal times for the Boothbay sites are as follows:

Camp Knickerbocker, 157 Barters Island Road, Boothbay : Breakfast , 7:30-9 a.m., and Lunch, 12:20-1 p.m.

Clifford Park, 55 Back River Road, Boothbay: Lunch only, 11-11:40 a.m.

Per USDA guidelines, all meals must be eaten on site and only during established meal times. No registration needed, just show up during meal times, all are welcomed and encouraged to attend! If you would like to volunteer with the program, make a cash donation; or would like more information, please contact Anni Pat McKenney at 563-1330 or programs@healthylincolncounty.org.