The week after July 4th, the Medway Public Library will once again offer its free lunch program, this time, thanks to generous community business sponsors, for three days a week. According to Library Director Margaret Perkins, those days are tentatively planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, at 11:45 a.m. for lunch, with a storytime offered at 11 a.m. The program will be a drop-in free lunch, and both parents or caregivers and children may take part.
“We got a lot of funding, mostly from Medway Pride Day and Whole Foods,” says Perkins, although she mentions that the official list of sponsors has not been finalized. (Local Town Pages will list them in a later issue.) Garelick Farms will once again provide milk, as well, she says. “Lots of different businesses and organizations in town were happy to donate,” says Perkins, including the Medway Community Church. Perkins says she has had some interest from the Medway Lions Club as well.
In addition to the story time offered before lunch, crafts and STEM (Science, Technology and Math) activities will be offered afterward, most likely appropriate for upper elementary and middle school-aged kids.
“For the little ones, what really worked well is we have this giant box of Duplo,” says Perkins.
Perkins is happy to be able to offer the program as a drop-in one this year. The library has had two such one-day programs so far, this year, one during February vacation and the other during April vacation.
During the summer last year, Perkins said the program handled about 20 people on a given day. The free lunch program, she says, is not just for Medway residents, but for anyone who would like to participate. She’s the program is not bound by restrictions placed on other free lunch programs so that adults can take part.
“That’s part of the whole family wellness thing,” says Perkins. “Having the adults and children eat together, eat a meal and get together with other members of the community. It’s partly a community-building event.”