Mayor, Superintendent host healthy BBQ to launch Summer Food Program

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Superintendent Carol R. Johnson joined hundreds of students for a special barbecue lunch on July 13 at the Mildred Avenue K-8 School to kick off a summer of healthy eating and launch the Summer Food Service Program. This event was the first in a series of healthy barbecues that BPS and BCYF will host this summer at locations throughout the city to highlight the importance of healthy eating and the benefits of fresh, local foods.

Chef Kirk Conrad and his student “sous-chefs” from the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness Youth Advisory Board prepared healthy side dishes to be served at the barbecue using local produce from Czajkowski Farms in Hadley, MA. On the menu were corn-on-the cob, cold green bean salad, and fresh blueberries.

Dr. Johnson also stopped by the Boston Public Health Commission's booth and signed the "Soda-Free Summer Pledge," a promise not to drink soda for the entire summer.

The summer meals program provides free daily meals for children ages 18 and under at approximately 148 sites and programs across the city and runs through September 3. For information and serving times, please call the Project Bread Hotline at 1-800-645-8333.