Now in its fourth year, the Vashon food bank’s Picnics in the Park program will begin later this month, and organizers are focusing on attracting the island’s middle school- and high school-age population.

Picnics in the Park is the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank’s annual summer program that offers free lunch and activities to school-age children during weekdays throughout summer. Initially created as a way to help students from low-income families who receive free or reduced meals during the school year continue to receive meals when school is not in session, the program encourages children of all income levels to attend. From noon to 1 p.m. every weekday from June 26 to Sept. 1 (except for July 4 and July 21) at Ober Park, volunteers will serve healthy lunches and provide activities such as story time, hill-sliding on cardboard and an appearance by Vashon Island Fire & Rescue firefighters with firefighting equipment.

Robbie Rohr, executive director of the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank, said that her favorite aspect of the event is the community it offers for both children and parents.

“It’s about hospitality,” Rohr said. “It has this genteel, welcoming, soft atmosphere about it.”

This year, Rohr wants to extend that hospitality to Vashon’s older children. She said that in 2016, 89 percent of the 465 children served that summer were ages 10 and under. Children over the age of 14 made up only 3.5 percent of participants. With that in mind, Vashon’s teen librarian, Erin Rozewicz, will be in attendance and offer activities from button-making and origami to experimenting with circuits and robotics. Immediately following the picnics program every Friday, the library will offer its Game On event, where teens can play video games on Xbox, Wii and classic Nintendo systems along with board games.

“I’m really hoping to get more teens at picnics,” she said. “It can’t just be these little kids. They don’t have that filter that people are judging them, but I feel like teens aren’t going because of the awareness of that judgement. It will be good to just say, ‘Look, there’s food for everyone, here’s some activities, have fun.’”

Rohr said that the program’s lunches are bagged specifically so children, but especially teens, can grab food and head to wherever they’re going and not feel like they have to stay.

“We’re hoping to make it seem like a good option for older kids,” Rohr said. “We want this to be normal. If I could have one wish, it would be that the food bank is unstigmatized.”

Rohr’s goal for this year is to serve 500 children and 3,000 lunches. Last year, 465 children were served 2,717 lunches.

“It’s gone up about 25 percent every year so those goals for this year are conservative,” Rohr explained.

To help the food bank reach that goal, new this year, 16 island businesses are sponsoring the event. The sponsorships, which range from $250 to $3,500, help the food bank cover a portion of the costs associated with the program. Employees from sponsoring businesses will also volunteer to prepare and serve the lunches.

“That experience of volunteering can be transformative,” Rohr said. “Picnics have become a part of Vashon summer. It allows for one guaranteed good meal for families.”

Volunteers needed

The food bank is always looking for volunteers to prepare and serve lunches and offer activities.

Those interested in volunteering should email Emily Scott at emily@vashonfoodbank.org.