Rio Rancho is proving there is such a thing as a free lunch by offering free lunches to people 18 and younger through Aug. 7.

The meals are being offered through the Summer Food Service Program at Haynes Community Center, 2006 Grande Blvd., Star Heights Recreation Center, 800 Polaris Blvd.; Rainbow Pool Facility, 301 Southern Blvd.; and the Boys and Girls Club of Rio Rancho, 4600 Sundt Rd.

Lunch will be available Monday through Friday, except on Friday, July 3, and served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunches will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Observer '€” Jimmy Currier photo Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack enjoys Tuesday morning with some new friends at Star Heights Recreation Center. In the red shirt, to Swisstack'€™s right, is John Pfuhl. To Swisstack'€™s left is Lauren Volquardsen. Swisstack was there to tour the center, one of four sites in the city offering free lunches to children this summer.

Last Tuesday, Mayor Tom Swisstack visited Star Heights Recreation Center and sat under a tree with a group of children.  He talked with them about sports, the summer and their favorite activities.

“What’s important for me is to make a positive impact on the kids and these programs develop the fiber in our young people,” Swisstack said. “My first priority has always been the kids. These are the people who will be the responsible adults.”

The lunches follow current U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines that includes a daily serving of the following: milk; vegetable or fruit juice; daily meat sandwich or meat alternate such as chicken nuggets; daily grains/breads or crackers; and a daily serving of either fruit or vegetables.

Through the first 10 days of the program, the city has served 5,532 lunches. The menu, for example, last Tuesday was yogurt, string cheese, peaches, celery and a roll.

Mark Willis of Sodexo, the company responsible for preparing meals for Rio Rancho Public Schools, said there are different menus each day, ranging from chicken nuggets to bean and cheese burritos to hamburgers. Lunches are prepared at schools and purchased from the school district.

Rio Rancho parks director Jay Hart said this is the first year the city is offering the lunches and so far it has been a success.

“It has been overwhelming for staff and the city to see how much the program is appreciated,” Hart said. “This program is here to stay and we’re looking to have more sites next year and possibly adding breakfast.”

The SFSP is a federally funded program operated nationally by the USDA and administered at the state level by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. The city of Rio Rancho, which applied to be a local sponsor of the program, will receive funding from the SFSP to purchase lunches and distribute them to children.

During the school year, nutritious meals are available for children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. However, those programs end when school lets out for the summer. SFSP helps children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need to learn, play and grow throughout the summer months when school is not in session.

The lunch sites that will be utilized this summer are in close proximity to Rio Rancho schools that have more than 50 percent of their students participating in the free or reduced-price meal programs during the school year.

— Jimmy Currier

contributed to this article