State Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, got a firsthand look – and taste – of how the YMCA in Port Townsend helps keep kids fed.

The Jefferson County branch of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA started serving federally funded summer meals of full lunches and snacks in 2013.

Chapman got to check out the After the Bell (ATB) enrichment program March 24 on the Mountain View campus in Port Townsend, where YMCA staff members Rowen DeLuna and Travis Spencer serve vegetable-rich meals five days a week.

“One of the things we’ve been working on is not only feeding their bellies, but also educating their palates toward healthier choices,” DeLuna said. “The fact that kale is now one of their favorite foods is the fairy-tale component of this story. One of the reasons it’s their favorite is that the kids have put effort into growing and harvesting the kale in our garden.”

Sara Ybarra Lopez, YMCA program coordinator, initiated a local branch of the National Child and Adult Care Food Program to feed children after school at two sites, Mountain View and Chimacum Elementary School.

While Lopez credited Pane d’Amore Artisan Bakery, Colinwood and Finnriver farms, and other local contributors for helping to sustain the program, she’s been “chilled to the bone” by the expressed opinions of several members of the Trump administration regarding such federally funded meal programs for those in need.

“We can offer nutritious meals without charging our working families any extra, and parents know their children are fed high-quality, well-balanced meals,” Lopez said. “A well-nourished child is more likely to be healthy, happy and experience less illness that results in parents being absent from work. Research proves that good nutrition contributes not only to their physical growth, but to their intellectual and emotional development as well.”

The meals include one type of grain, one protein, two kinds of fruit or vegetable, and milk. An additional snack is served on early-release days, when the ATB program day is longer.

“This is probably one of the better meals that many of these kids eat during the day,” Chapman said.

“For some kids, it’s their only meal of the day,” DeLuna said.

As a single mom, DeLuna sympathized with families that struggle to provide stability for their children, which is why she strives to offer a place where kids can try out food options they might not have access to at home.

“They might not have as much time to eat at other places, so here, they can take their time and talk about their day,” DeLuna said. “We think about homelessness as just being out on the street, but for a lot of folks, it means sleeping in the living room of their aunt or grandma’s house. One of the kids recently overheard me saying how I was moving out of my house, and he earnestly asked me if that meant I’d be living in my car. I was able to reassure him, but that’s the reality for them.”

Chapman sat down to chat over cups of cooked-from-scratch soup with Astrid Burnham, one of the young diners that day. DeLuna said Burnham is one of 25-40 children whom the program feeds every school day, and more than 15,000 meals over the past year.

“Look at how important this meal is to them,” Chapman said. “Not just that they’re getting nutritious food, but that they’re sitting down and talking, well behaved and not yelling.”

“Cutbacks on that end would affect both ends of the spectrum, kids and seniors,” Chapman said. “Again, just look at the love, the hard work and the attention to detail that went into making these meals. Your people have poured their hearts and souls into this. That’s why I support USDA investment in this work, and anyone who wants to cut your funding should spend a day here.”