WASHOUGAL, Wash. — With school out for the summer and many children left without access to regular meals, Refuel Washougal has stepped up to ensure no child goes hungry.
The local nonprofit, known for its weekly community dinners at the Washougal Community Center, is now offering free sack lunches to children at Hathaway Park every weekday from noon to 1 p.m. through the end of August.
A Mission Fueled by Compassion
“I love the kids. I love the community, and I love working at the school,” said Ann Stevens, vice president of Refuel and a cook at Hathaway Elementary. “Working at Hathaway, I know we have a lot of kids who qualify for free and reduced lunch. I just thought it would be super important to be here every day to feed these kids that I know need it.”
The summer meal program began in 2024, after the Washougal School District discontinued its own summer food initiative. Determined to fill the gap, Stevens teamed up with volunteer Traci Tingley to create a plan that would provide much-needed nourishment for local children.
“We were like, ‘What can we do?’” Stevens recalled. “I feed the kids every day during the school year, and I know that when school’s out, a lot of the kids go hungry.”
Community-Driven and Volunteer-Led
After a collaborative effort with Share Vancouver at Hamllik Park last year, Refuel decided to independently manage its own meal program this summer while still maintaining its partnership with Share.
This year, support has poured in from across the community, with Clark County Food Bank, Inter-Faith Treasure House, Akin, Camas Lions Club, Smead’s Pub, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, and the Washougal High School 2025 Grad Night Committee contributing food and funds.
“We’ve had a lot of people wanting to help in different ways,” Stevens said. “And I love this community for that.”
Currently, about 25 volunteers prepare and distribute meals. Food is stored at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, where volunteers gather three times a week to pack nutritious and varied lunches into brown paper bags.
Each lunch includes eight items, such as sandwiches, pretzels, Jello, peaches, applesauce, Cerebelly bars, vegetable sticks, cookies, chicken salad, bean burritos, Lunchables, and drinks.
Refuel gives out around 25 lunches each day, with slightly higher participation than last year.
Eyes on the Future
Stevens hopes to expand the program in 2026 to include both Hathaway and Hamllik parks, but says it will require more volunteers to make that possible.
“It’s hard to see anybody go hungry, even adults,” Stevens said. “But kids—that really just gets to your heart. They need to be able to grow and learn, and they can’t do that if they haven’t had a decent meal.”
Volunteer Kerry O’Connor, also a cook at Hathaway Elementary, echoed that sentiment: “I love it. I know that it’s doing good. The community needs it.”
With continued support and heart-driven leadership, Refuel Washougal is making sure that kids in their community don’t have to choose between summer fun and a full stomach.
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