Houghton schools’ summer food program enters 5th year

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) – As families struggle with higher food prices nationwide, one western U.P. program is working to lighten their load.

It has been five years since the Houghton-Portage Township School District kicked off its free summer meal program to help in-need children. Since then, the number of kids it helps has grown from 300 to more than 1,000.

HPTS Food Service Director Shelby Turnquist recalls something that has stuck with her since the end of the last school year.

“A substitute bus driver was telling me that there were two children sitting behind him,” Turnquist said. “The one child was all excited about summer break and the other child was expressing concern about where his food was going to come for the summer. That’s why I do this.”

Every Wednesday during summer vacation, families from Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties gather at Houghton Elementary School to pick up a week’s worth of food items. This is part of the state’s Meet Up and Eat Up food service program. The school’s program buys and prepares some items, like turkey meat, but others are grown from around the area. This week’s options included kohlrabi and broccoli from the Boersma Family Roots farm near Calumet.

“Shelby was my lunch lady as a young’un,” Boersma Family Roots Operator Matthew Boersma said. “As soon as I got re-introduced to Shelby, we jumped on board. It’s a great service to the community and we just try to be a part of it.”

This year’s program also has a new feature. Using ingredients from the area, paraprofessional Lily Venable shares different meals and recipes on-site with families as they collect their items. She says she hopes to give them ideas on how to use the ingredients.

“We’re teaching them that it can be easy and accessible,” Venable said. “You don’t have to have a lot of know-how or even really a lot of energy. Some nights… you’re just trying to get food out to your kids in a way that you know they’re not going to be upset.”

Turnquist says she is proud of everyone who has worked together in the program over the years to make a difference in their community.

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