Island Harvest to dish up free lunches

Island Harvest plans to dish out more than 20,000 free lunches for children this summer as part of a federal hunger prevention program.

The nonprofit food bank will serve the meals at schools, community centers and churches across the Island in an effort to fill the gap that arises during the summer vacation, officials said. When not in school, children don't have access to the free or reduced-price lunches offered during the academic year.

"Now that school has ended for the summer, many children will lose their one chance to have a balanced meal during the day," Island Harvest president Randi Shubin Dresner said in a statement. "Proper nutrition is essential to the growth and development of children, and many of them, especially those in the low-income spectrum, don't always have access to good, wholesome food."

Island Harvest is offering the meals at more than 25 locations around Long Island as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program.

The lunches are free for any child age 18 and younger. For a complete list of Island Harvest's lunch sites, call the Summer Food Hotline at 800-522-5006 go to islandharvest.org.