Free summer meals help curb food insecurity, get kids outside

POCATELLO — On a recent sunny afternoon, kids poured out of minivans, rolled by on skateboards, and pedaled past on their bikes – all of them headed for a free picnic lunch in Pocatello’s Raymond Park.  The Summer Food Service Program, as these federally-funded, state-administered free meals are called, are available at parks and schools throughout the country and ensure that children and teens 18 and under have access to food when school is not in session.  Last summer in Idaho, more than 4.1 million meals and snacks were served at more than 250 sites, according to the State Department of Education.