Portland Parks and Recreation’s “Free Lunch+Play” program returned to Creston, Mt. Scott, and Essex parks on June 23rd. New this summer: While chowing down on some free grub, Southeast Portland kids could also get the chance to listen to opera, learn about insects, and to try out roller skating.
“Free Lunch+Play” feeds those age 18 and younger every weekday through the summer, at parks across the city. PP&R announced on June 10th that more than half of Portland Public Schools’ students qualify for free or reduced lunch. So free Lunch+Play seeks to fill the “summer lunch gap” – when children and teens might be eating less than normal.
The 2020 Parks Local Option Levy, which taxes Portlanders 80 cents on every $1,000 of their assessed property value, helps fund the Free Lunch+Play programming. According to a 2024 open letter from Deputy City Administrator Sonia Schmanski, the levy paid for 117,950 free meals in the last two summers…