MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — Free summer lunches are available for children in Mountain Home as St. Vincent de Paul partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its Youth Summer Food Program.
According to St. Vincent de Paul, 1 in 8 children in Idaho experiences food insecurity. When school is out, many of those children lose access to the daily meals they depend on.
"There's some families that really depend on those meals that they get from school lunches, so when we offer it in the summer, it gives them the opportunity to have extra meals that they wouldn't have without school," Summer Food Service Program Manager Natalie Sierra said.
WATCH: How Mountain Home kids can get a free lunch every weekday
USDA data shows food prices in April 2026 were 3.2 percent higher than in April 2025. Sierra said the program is designed to ease that burden on families.
"Saint Vincent de Paul's mission is to feed the hungry,” Sierra said. “We hope that it limits that stress of having to serve a meal each day.”
RELATED | West Ada School District kicks off summer meals program at Tully Park
The lunches include a variety of snacks, fruits and proteins for children ages one through 18. Adults can also purchase a meal for $4.
Mountain Home parents said the savings add up quickly.
"It's definitely saved money, cause now I don't have to worry about buying lunch stuff," Mountain Home mother Alayna Hoskin said. "Prices are crazy and so that is one thing that is nice is that it's free."
"It's been able to go towards other things like swim lessons or other extracurricular activities that they wanna do during the summer. So it's been helpful that way," Mountain Home mother Mandy Wood said.
Beyond the meals, parents said the program is helping children build connections with their neighbors.
"They've been more outgoing and are able to speak to other kids and create friendships more quickly," Wood said.
RELATED | Summer Feed: Twin Falls summer lunch program offers free meals to kids ages 1-18
5th grade student Ivory Wood, who received a free lunch through the program, said the community aspect is a highlight.
"I like to see everyone and how they are benefiting from it. I also like that I can come out here and there are so many other people," Ivory Wood said.
Free lunches are available every weekday from noon to 12:30 p.m. at Carl Miller Park and Richard Aguirre Park through Aug. 7.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
