At Provident Heights Elementary School on Tuesday, a steady stream of 100 parents and children filed through the cafeteria to receive free lunches. And that’s exactly what local hunger officials want.

Too often, low-income children go without meals in the summertime when school is out. So we agree with a recent publicity push by local authorities, including Waco Mayor Jim Bush and the McLennan County Hunger Coalition, to get the word out that all area children ages 18 and younger can receive free breakfasts and lunches.

The healthy meals are served daily at more than 30 convenient Waco sites through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Summer Nutrition Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Oftentimes, the sites are just waiting for diners to come in, said Kenneth Moerbe, chairman of the Hunger Coalition and co-chair with Bush of the Food Planning Task Force of McLennan County.

Waco Independent School District is a big sponsor, offering 17 campuses — like Provident Heights, J.H. Hines Elementary and A.J. Moore Academy — as feeding locations. Other sites include Wesley United Methodist Church, Antioch Community Church, Doris Miller YMCA and First Baptist Church of Waco.

As a testament to our struggling economy, Midway Independent School District also offered its first summer feeding program at Woodgate Intermediate School, supplemented by the USDA. It attracted 20 to 40 children per day and offered reduced meals for parents, Midway spokeswoman Traci Marlin said.

That program is ending today, but the other sites will remain open through Aug. 19, Moerbe said.

Baylor University students and Mission Waco volunteers have gone door to door in poorer neighborhoods passing out fliers about the program. Free parent lunches have been added at eight sites Tuesdays through Thursdays until Aug. 18.

“Hopefully, that will encourage them to bring more children,” Moerbe said.

We encourage families to take advantage of this opportunity. The food is hot, fresh and served by welcoming souls. And from the reaction of some diners, like 4-year-old cousins Jorge Archan and Pedro Archan, it’s delicious.

The cousins eat lunch at Provident Heights most days and enjoy trying to feed each other mashed potatoes in between much squirming and giggling.

Jorge even told us in Spanish that it rivals some national fast-food chains.

The friendly atmosphere, at this site at least, is full of camaraderie and has a neighborly feel. And in these economic times, couldn’t we all benefit from breaking bread with a fellow neighbor?