Union School District offers free summer lunches to local youth

Union School District launched its first free summer meals program and is already serving about 600 lunches a week to children and teens in Union, a practical boost for families facing higher grocery costs while school cafeterias are closed.

Free lunches are available Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Union school cafeteria, and the offer covers youth ages 1 through 18. That broader age range makes the meal service useful for households with children in different grade levels, not just elementary students who might still be in a school lunch pattern.

The timing matters in Union County, where summer can stretch family budgets and leave working parents trying to fill a midday meal gap. The district’s meal count suggests families are using the service right away, not treating it as a symbolic offering. The program is scheduled to run through Aug. 21, 2026, and district staff hope to bring it back next year.

Union’s effort is part of Oregon’s Summer Food Service Program, which the Oregon Department of Education says operates in hundreds of communities across the state and provides free meals and snacks to all kids ages 1 to 18 without paperwork or income verification. State guidance says summer meal sites may serve breakfast, lunch, snack or supper, and some also include activities for children.

The state also says summer meals historically reach only about 16 percent of the 21 million children who receive free or reduced-price lunches during the school year. In that context, a local site in Union carries more weight than a simple school district notice: it helps close a seasonal gap that can leave children without a dependable lunch when classes end.

Oregon’s summer meal network reached nearly 700 sites last year, and the state served roughly 1.43 million summer meals in 2024, according to Oregon Department of Education spokesperson Peter Rudy. For families looking beyond Union, meal sites can be found by calling 2-1-1 or using the USDA Summer Meals Site Finder, which lists locations and whether meals are served on site or to go in rural areas.

The Union School District office is at 540 S Main St., Union, Oregon 97883, and Superintendent Carter Wells is listed as the contact for questions and complaints. The district’s first summer meal effort now gives Union families a local place to rely on during the weeks when the school year’s safety net is off.