By MARK BRIANT
mbriant@soundpublishing.com

BREMERTON — It’s summertime, and the living should be easy.

Particularly for kids, the warm-weather months are the time for kids to be running, jumping, playing soccer and hanging out with friends. Time to recharge for the coming school year.

But if a child has to dash out every morning with an empty or near-empty stomach, the joy of childhood can be quickly lost.

Now in its seventh year, the Bremerton School District’s summer food service program for children helps solve that problem.

“We have one of the highest numbers of low-income children who are under either the federally funded free or reduced-fare lunch programs,” said Leslie Daugs, Bremerton City Councilmember and a strong program supporter. “When summer arrives, those programs stop until fall. But kids still need to eat — and most of them are at a stage of life where adequate nutrition is critical to their growth and health.”

Demand for the program begins to peak at the end of each month, Daugs added

Daugs has a special affection for the summer food program. In her “other” life, she is a campus security officer at Mountain View Elementary School in Bremerton.

The program is available at more than a dozen locations, including libraries, elementary schools, the local YMCA and public parks. Each site serves between 20 and 70 kids, and kids up to 18 years are eligible. Several sites will be operating through the middle of August.

To find the location and time of summer meal sites near you, call the Family Food hotline at 888-436-6392.