Cost- and stigma-free: The Waltham Boys & Girls Club provides free summer lunches for Waltham youth

Many Waltham youth lose access to free school lunches when schools recess for the summer. The Waltham Boys & Girls Club steps in to fill the gap.

WBGC sponsors the Summer Eats program, a federally funded, state-administered program that provides daily free lunches and snacks to youth 18 and under.

The program, known formally as the Summer Food Service Program, is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and reimburses sponsoring organizations for providing meal services, often breakfast and lunch. In Massachusetts, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) administers the program in partnership with food security organization Project Bread.

WBGC also receives some support from corporate sponsors to administer the program, primarily through in-kind donations.

There are eight Summer Eats meal sites in Waltham this summer. 

WBGC has been a mainstay in providing meal services to youth and addressing food insecurity in Waltham for years. 

While it only began administering the Summer Eats program in the summer of 2018, it has provided free dinner and snacks during the school year to its enrolled members through the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) since the fall of 2016. According to data shared by Jason Smith, WBGC’s assistant executive director, the Waltham Boys & Girls Club has served around 14,600 meals to date.

There is an abundance of evidence that underscores the need for these programs, particularly in Waltham. Food insecurity has been on the rise in Massachusetts during the past several years. Mass General Brigham and the Greater Boston Food Bank’s most recent annual report on food access found that 37% of Massachusetts households faced some level of food insecurity in 2024, nearly double the rate of 19% from just five years prior. Project Bread finds that nearly 21.5% of MA households with children are facing food insecurity. 

While reports and exact statistics around food insecurity in Waltham are more difficult to find, it’s a palpable issue that Smith witnesses firsthand when engaging with local residents through the food programs: “Our lived experience on the ground shows the urgency, with many families relying on free meals during school breaks and summer,” he said.

Many other local organizations have also made expanding food access their focal issue. This includes Healthy Waltham, which administers a food pantry on Cherry Street and offers nutrition education services; Waltham Fields Community Farm, which donates a minimum of 20%  of its produce to food access and security programs; and regional organizations such as the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Waltham is “an underserved community,” Smith emphasized, noting that its demographics are in contrast to wealthier area towns such as Weston or Wellesley. 

The Healthy Waltham website states that “Waltham is home to a high population of working poor, many of whom are service workers, low-income seniors and recent immigrants from Central and South America, Uganda and Haiti.” Waltham’s poverty rate in 2023 was 8.6% , which is lower than that of the national average (11.1%). The majority of Waltham Public School students also qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches during the school year, although these qualifications are no longer relevant since Massachusetts implemented universally free lunches in the 2023-2024 school year.

Everyone is welcome

For the summer meals program, families do not need to provide proof of income to verify their eligibility, eliminating the stigma and shaming that can come with such programs; they can simply walk in and take a meal.

To Smith, this is a way of recognizing that there are a variety of reasons why families may need the support of organizations like the Waltham Boys & Girls Club to ensure their children have access to nutritious meals.

“I know that families really depend upon our food program, whether it’s [because] they’re just really trying to balance or understand where their last dollars should be contributing, or it could just be as simple as [having] a late soccer game and that’s just one less thing [they] have to do,” said Smith. “We want all kids in Waltham to feel welcome, especially in times of need.”

Last Friday the sun beat down on the fields of Drake Playground as the community gathered for the WBGC’s Summer Eats midsummer event. The family-oriented event saw the distribution of 220 free meals and also featured informational tables from local youth-serving organizations and entertainment like a dunk tank and face-painting.

Britney, a Waltham resident attending the July 25 midsummer event with her family and who provided only her first name, expressed her appreciation for the Summer Eats program and the WBGC. “They’re an awesome program and very generous,” she said, also adding that the program does a good job of communicating dates and locations of services.

The work, however, is never done, and Smith said he hopes that others in the community continue to recognize the importance of and pledge their support to the cause.

“We always talk about leveling the playing fields in regards to everyone having an opportunity to become the best version of themselves.” he said. “Well, how can they become the best version of themselves if they have to worry about where the next meal is going to come from?” 

The Waltham Boys & Girls Club provided the following list of summer meal sites in Waltham.

• Enrichment Sites where breakfast and lunch will be served through Aug. 15 are
  • Plympton Elementary, 20 Farnsworth St.
  • Northeast Elementary, 70 Putney Lane 
  • Whittemore Elementary, 30 Parmenter Road
  • Kennedy Middle School, 655 Lexington St.
  • McDevitt Middle School, 75 Church St.
• Camp and community partners sites where breakfast and lunch will be served through Aug. 15 are
  • Summer Session (WBGC), 20 Exchange St.
  • Waltham Library, 735 Main St.
  • Milestone, 410 Totten Pond Road, Floor 2 (only serves lunch)