Zach Johnson Foundation To Help Fund CR Lunch Program

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Kids on Course University, the free summer reading program for children in Cedar Rapids will not hold classes this summer. The Zach Johnson Foundation issued an official statement yesterday. The foundation, which was started by the professional golfer, had operated the reading program in the city since 2013.

Instead, this year the Zach Johnson Foundation will provide 30 staffers to help support the Cedar Rapids school district's nine meal distribution sites. The Gazette reports that free meals, made possible through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will continue to be available to anyone age 18 and younger through August 7th. School staff and other volunteers have been distributing the free grab and go meals since schools closed in March. They've handed out over 260,000 meals in the meantime.

Zach Johnson Foundation Executive Director Jenny Becker told The Gazette that the foundation decided to focus on feeding thousands instead of educating the hundreds of students who would have qualified for the Kids on Course program. Becker said, "we know kids can't learn if they're hungry." The foundation will also distribute books, activities, and other school supplies at the meal sites.

Here are the Cedar Rapids Schools' meal site locations. Meals are available Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Friday, August 7th.

• Arthur Elementary, 2630 B Ave. NE

• Grant Elementary, 254 Outlook Dr. SW

• Grant Wood Elementary, 645 26th St. SE

• Hoover Elementary, 4141 Johnson Ave. NW

• Johnson Elementary, 355 18th St. SE

• Nixon Elementary, 200 Nixon Dr. Hiawatha,

• Taylor Elementary, 720 Seventh Ave. SW

• Wright Elementary, 1524 Hollywood Blvd. NE

• Roosevelt Middle School, 300 13th St. NW

Its a sad statement about the world we're living in right now when a foundation has to choose to feed kids rather than help educate them. Either way, thank you to the Zach Johnson Foundation for making sure no child in Cedar Rapids goes hungry this summer.