'We try to reach people where they're at:' Mobile lunch program brings free food to north side neighborhoods | Politics and Elections
On a sunny summer weekday , a 15- passenger van pulled into the Woodland Park apartment complex in north Madison. A bunch of kids stood on the curb, assembled in a pseudo line, waiting for the van, excited and jostling for a better position. “You guys got Cheetos?” a little boy yelled out. The kids know the drill: the van comes every day to bring them free lunch and they wait as the volunteers set up the day's offerings: first carrots, then yogurt, crackers, a fruit snack, sandwich and juice boxes. The service is from The River Food Pantry as part of its Madison Urban Nutritional Children ’s Hotspot (MUNCH) program. When school’s not in session, MUNCH delivers lunch to kids eight north side low -income neighborhoods who might otherwise go without. THE NEED: ‘THIS IS ALL WE HAVE’ The MUNCH program started last summer and delivered over 10,000 lunches in 2016. This year, they’ve added more neighborhoods to their route and have already delivered over 30,000, with an average of ab...