MILLERTON — The North East Community Center (NECC) offers its free Summer Lunch Box program each year to nourish children who would usually take advantage of the free and reduced breakfasts and lunches at school — students who depend on the community center when there’s no school to attend during the summer months and no nourishing meals to sustain them. This year, led by program director Lenny Sutton and his crew, the center made thousands of meals and delivered them to qualifying families of the North East (Webutuck) Central School District. During a five-week period, they served an astounding 2,312 breakfasts and 2,229 lunches.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Lunch Box program faced a number of changes “due to alterations made by the federal and state funders,” according to NECC.
The program is open to any child 18 years of age or younger who resides in the Webutuck Central School District.
Although NECC planned to make meals available this year at two locations, one in Millerton and one in Amenia, with a third potentially in Wassaic if needed, according to NECC Executive Director Christine Sergent, the community center “had a drop-off location at NECC but no others.
“We had no families interested in picking up meals — when told they had options, they opted for delivery,” she wrote in an email on Friday, Aug. 21.The Lunch Box program ended on Friday, Aug. 14, and the school district has now taken over meal deliveries.
