North Bend Library has begun a Summer Meals program for the second year. The program offers children up to age 18 free lunches and snacks to coincide with summer reading programs for children.

Begun on July 5, the program will run every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday through Aug. 12. Irene Wickstrom, library services manager with the King County Library System, said the dates and times were chosen to match up with reading programs at the North Bend Library.

“We’ve selected times so that they can coincide with summer reading programs,” Wickstrom said. “So the kids can come in, have a meal, take advantage of presenters and read.”

The meals are provided through funding from the King County Library System Foundation; the North Bend Friends of the Library help to serve the lunches and snacks.

“Friends of the Library have been most helpful in helping us bring these programs to the community,” Wickstrom said.

The program is part of a collaboration with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. North Bend was chosen as a city to host the program because of the number of children in local schools who receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year.

“It’s interesting and it’s fairly a new program,” Wickstrom said. “We would love to expand this and offer this five days a week. The first day we started, we didn’t have anybody. But by the second day we had a handful of kids. We are hoping this will build by word of mouth.”

The lunches are served at the library from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., snacks are served.