by Sharon Niederman
RATON —The staff of Raton Housing Authority prepares and serves grab and go breakfast and lunch to children age 1-18 every weekday. According to Raton Housing Authority Director Terry Baca, 400-700 lunches are served daily in Raton at the Raton Convention Center, 901 S. 3rd St., and along the Raton bus routes, as well as in Springer, Maxwell, and Des Moines.
Meal service is not available on the weekends.
No forms are necessary, and there is no charge.
“Just show up at the site,” Baca says. Call 575-445-8021 for site locations.
In Raton, all children may pick up grab and go breakfast between 8-9 am and lunch from noon-1 pm.
On a recent weekday at the Convention Center, children seemed pleased with their lunches of turkey and cheese sandwiches and apples. “They really like the food,” said Crystal Fulkerson, mother of two young boys, Bane and Aiden.
Following Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive order to insure that all New Mexico children are fed during school closures due to COVID 19, the Raton Housing Authority extended the 26 year-old summer program of providing lunch to Raton children in Ripley, Longfellow, and Legion parks. This program will continue through the summer after the school year is officially over.
The meals are funded by New Mexico Children Youth and Families Department through the USDA.
