June is officially here, which means summer sunshine and warm weather. However, if you’ve ever lived in the Chicago area you know that there is absolutely no guarantee of beautiful summer weather. This unpredictability goes hand in hand with the ability to obtain food in the summer months when living in a food desert. The guarantee of a lunch from school each day withers away, and the need for a nutritious meal in the food desert surrounding Beacon Place becomes a daily stressor.

However, Beacon Place is about to kick off our third year of providing an open lunch site. This means that any child from the ages of four through eighteen can come for a free meal, as well as participate in other accompanying programs. Last summer we averaged roughly 200 children per day for lunch and had over 462 different children attend the lunch program. With arts and crafts, reading corners, soccer games, full tummies, and more, Beacon Place can guarantee food and fun each day for the children who come.

Big Blue, our newly remodeled facility, allows us to make our Beacon Place programs even bigger and better this summer. This year, we can guarantee not only lunch, but breakfast as well. Through working with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Beacon Place can provide each child with a backpack full of healthy food to take home every weekend so they will not be hungry.

Please stop by Beacon Place and join in the fun every Monday and Thursday this summer. We will be busy as can be while having a great time, and this I can guarantee!