For kids who are what’s known as food insecure in Central Oregon — and according to the Healthier Central Oregon website, nearly a third of all children in the region are — the federal summer lunch program is a godsend. Kids who participate are assured of a well-balanced meal at no cost, usually five days a week.

Food insecurity doesn’t translate directly to “hunger,” and that’s worth keeping in mind. By federal definition, it does mean, however, that a family has worried that food would run out, and that in some cases it has. It means, often, a trip to the food bank to make food last and it does mean that family meals are less likely to be well balanced than they would be under other circumstances.

The federal summer food-service program is aimed directly at children ages 1 through 18. It provides lunch, and in some cases breakfast and a snack, to kids who show up at a variety of meal sites around the region, including 10 in the Bend-La Pine Schools district, four at Crook County schools, five in the Redmond District, one in Sisters and six in the Jefferson County school district. The meals are well balanced and available at no cost, and all students who show up are eligible.

Yet the number of kids in the region who take advantage of the summer meals program has declined, as an article in the June 7 Bulletin noted. That may be for a variety of reasons, among them lack of information and difficulty getting to meal sites.

In Crook County, for example, roughly 85 percent of students at Paulina School are considered economically disadvantaged, and they’re 55 miles from the district’s Prineville meal sites. Too, meals must be eaten at meal sites, and they cannot be shared with parents.

It may also be that the decline in summer meals program participation means that families are feeling better about their finances these days. We certainly hope so.

In the meantime, however, the program is there and the meals nutritious and often accompanied by other activities aimed at enhancing a child’s day. The price is right, as well. Families with school-aged children should take advantage.