Refuel Washougal provides free sack lunches to kids at Hathaway Park

Refuel Washougal has doubled down on its commitment to providing free meals to people in need. The nonprofit organization, which has served weekly dinners at the Washougal Community Center for many years, is providing free sack lunches to children at Hathaway Park in Washougal from noon to 1 p.m. each weekday through the end of August. “I love the kids. I love the community, and I love working at the school. And I just thought it would be super important to be here every day to feed these kids that I know need it,” said Refuel’s vice president, Ann Stevens, who works as a cook at Hathaway Elementary School. “Working at Hathaway, I know we have a lot of kids (who qualify for) free and reduced lunch.” Refuel launched the summertime lunch program in 2024, after the Washougal School District ended its summer meal program. Stevens said she heard a rumor that the district was not going to continue its summer program last year, so she met with Refuel volunteer Traci Tingley to come up with an alternative plan to help children in need. “We were like, ‘What can we do?’ ” Stevens said. “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.” Refuel contracted with Share Vancouver to offer meals at Hamllik Park in 2024, but decided to strike out on its own in 2025, receiving food and money from the Clark County Food Bank, the 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. Stevens said the group also maintained its partnership with Share Vancouver, but wanted to launch its own summer meal program this year. “We still have that partnership with Share,” she said, ‘but I was like, ‘Let’s try this on our own,’ and I think we’re doing all right. We’ve had a lot of people wanting to help in different ways, and I love this community for that.” Most of the food is stored in a refrigerator at St. Anne’s in Washougal. Refuel volunteers gather there three days per week to fill brown paper bags with a variety of items, including sandwiches, mini pretzels, Jello, peaches, applesauce, Cerebelly bars, vegetable sticks, cookies, chicken salad, bean burritos, Lunchables and drinks. Stevens said Refuel volunteer Fran Whitmeyer has been doing a great job organizing the food. “Every day we’ve got eight items that go in the bags,” Stevens said. The volunteers give away about 25 meals each day, Stevens said. “I do believe the numbers are slightly higher from last year,” she added. The program has drawn about 25 volunteers who prepare the meals and hand out the sack lunches. “I love it,” said volunteer Kerry O’Connor, a cook at Hathaway Elementary School. “I know that it’s doing good. The community needs it.” Stevens said she would like the program to provide meals at both Hathaway and Hamllik parks in 2026, but will need more volunteers for that to happen. “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.” To sign up for a volunteer shift, visit bit.ly/44Spozx. To donate food, visit bit.ly/44TvDD6. Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; doug.flanagan@columbian.com

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