Three Mid-Prairie community groups are working together to provide free lunches to students and community members this summer.

The Wellman Summer Lunch Program will be taking place at the Wellman skating rink on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Last year the program served sack lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Wellman Mennonite Church, but after collaborating with the Feed the Kids organization and the Kalona Food for All program, they’ve decided to transition to a sit down and take out program at the central location of the skating rink. Organizer Erin Ramer says they hope to mirror Food for All and have reading and other activities to engage people of all ages. No registration is required to receive the meals, and Ramer shares how the lunches are made possible, “We’ve had restaurant businesses give food from their distributors to us. We’ve had gift cards to the local grocery stores, which those are awesome. And then just, I think, every single church in Wellman has been involved in some way whether it’s through cookies, monetary donations, volunteers, and then of course folks outside of the churches as well have been super instrumental in making sure this happens.”

The Wellman Summer Lunch program and Kalona Food for All will both be serving on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and attendees are welcome to take lunches home for Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kalona Food for All begins June 4th at the Kalona Methodist Church and Wellman Summer Lunch on June 11th. To volunteer for either program visit foodforallmp.org.