Las Animas schools offer free summer lunches for youth 18 and under

Las Animas schools opened a free summer lunch program for children and teens ages 18 and under at Las Animas Elementary School, 530 Poplar Ave., with meals available Monday through Friday in June.

The district’s meal site came as families across Colorado leaned on a much larger summer network. On June 2, 2026, the Colorado Department of Education said more than 600 summer meal sites were open statewide, and last year’s sponsors served about 2 million meals to Colorado youth.

The state said the meals were free for any youth 18 and younger, with no registration, identification, proof of income or proof of enrollment required. All meals served through the Colorado Summer Meals Program met U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition guidelines, giving families a weekday option that helped bridge the gap left when school cafeterias closed for the summer.

In some rural communities, the state said, meals could also be available to take home, a detail that matters in places where transportation can decide whether a child eats or not. Families looking for a nearby site could use KidsFoodFinder.org, and some eligible households could also qualify for Summer EBT, which provides $120 per eligible school-aged child to buy groceries during the summer months.

For Las Animas families, the district’s offer turned the elementary school into a straightforward safety net: show up at 530 Poplar Ave., Monday through Friday, and pick up a meal for any child or teen 18 and under. In a county where summer break can tighten budgets for working parents and households already stretched by food costs, the program offered a direct way to keep kids fed while school was out.