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Mayor Bowser Kicks Off F.R.E.S.H. Summer 2015

Saturday, June 6, 2015
District Hosts 8th Annual Citywide Truck Touch

Contact: LaToya Foster (EOM) – (202) 727-5011; [email protected]

Today, at the 8th Annual Citywide Truck Touch, Mayor Muriel Bowser kicked off the Families, Recreation, Education/Employment, Safety and Health (FRESH) Summer initiative. The initiative provides city-wide summer programming from June through August to ensure DC residents of all ages have a safe, productive, and rewarding summer. The Office of the state Superintendent for Education provided all children and teenagers in attendance with free lunch. Truck Touch featured 30 vehicles used to clean and repair streets, fix potholes, change traffic lights, collect refuse, clear snow, vacuum sewers, provide emergency services, administer mobile health care, and more.

“The District thrives when our residents and families can enjoy a safe and productive summer,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “The F.R.E.S.H. Summer initiative brings together several district government agencies offering a robust list of activities to engage residents of all ages in all eight wards.” 

As part of F.R.E.S.H. Summer, the District is offering nine new camp offerings including coding, engineering, ballet and tai kwon do. One of the new offerings also includes a Summer Bridge program for 9th graders and a Google Maker Camp which will host approximately 1,600 participants. The District plans to have nearly 4,000 children enrolled in 86 camps and about 16,000 youth ages 14-24 will participate in the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program. Through a host of agencies, DC government will also sponsor block parties, movie nights and a reading program in partnership with the Washington Nationals to help youth combat the “summer slide” – the loss of learning that children experience during the summer months.

On June 22, the DC Free Summer Meals Program designated to support parents and families will begin. All kids and teens 18 years of age and younger can receive free meals at hundreds of locations across all eight wards. No questions asked. No parents required. No ID needed. Kids can walk into any open meal site and eat for free. To find a site residents can visit - dcsummermeals.dc.gov – or text “Food” to 877877 which will be available the first day of the free lunch program, June 22.

In recent years, the truck touch has become one of the summer’s most anticipated events bringing out thousands of residents, many of whom line up before the gates open so their kids can climb on packer, sweeper and boom trucks; ride Segways and sit inside the police chopper—the event’s biggest attraction. Free water was available to the public courtesy of Walmart, Giant Food and Safeway.

DC’s Citywide Truck Touch features vehicles from the District departments of Public Works, Transportation, Health, Employment Services, Parks and Recreation, Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the DC Water and Sewer Authority. Other agencies were available to provide direct services and disseminate information about various DC government agencies.