RAPID CITY, S.D. — Making sure no children go hungry during the summer months, Youth and Family Services free summer lunch program got under way in May.The summer lunch program runs Monday through Friday at 410 E. Monroe.

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Lunches are served from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Enrichment activities for youth are also offered during the same time.“The main reason is, USDA saw that when the school doors were closed, a lot of children were still not getting that lunch that they needed for healthy living, physical activity and energy. And so they did start. They developed the Summer Food Service Program, and here at Youth and Family Services, we’ve been participating in that for over 40 years,” said Darcie Decker, Nutrition Services Director, Youth and Family Services.During the summer lunch program, volunteers stay busy serving between 100 and 250 people in a day.“It’s special we see a grandparent walk in with kids and sit down and eat together, or we have uncles and aunts parents that come down and enjoy a meal together in a sit down type of family situation,” Decker said.The Rapid City YMCA also hosts the YMCA Summer Feeding Program running June through August. The 2025 YMCA distribution sites include the Rapid City YMCA location, Main Street Square, and the Liberty Center in Box Elder.The Youth and Family Services free summer lunch program runs through August 15.

By
Jerry Steinley

Jerry Steinley has lived in the Black Hills most of his life and calls Rapid City home. He received a degree in Journalism with a minor in Political Science from Metropolitan State University in Denver in 1994.