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Lessons on magnetism escaped fidgeting students at Esperanza Elementary last summer.

But instructor Raul Amaya now has higher expectations.

The difference is in the chicken fingers and chocolate milk that his fifth-graders are receiving under an expanding summertime free-lunch program. The initiative is new to his West Valley City school and 44 other locations around Utah as advocates strain to meet growing need in low-income communities.

"A full tummy helps the children think better," Amaya said. "They don't have to think, 'What are we gonna eat?' "

In the 2015-2016 school year, 220,755 Utah students — or 35 percent of the state's enrollment — qualified for free or discount lunch. Amaya and his colleagues fear many of those students go without meals during summer break.

The Utah Food Bank wants to guard against that. It administers the federal Summer Food Service program at Esperanza and 25 other Utah schools, libraries and community centers. It also is widening its focus farther outside Salt Lake County this summer, with Monday seeing the opening of four new "Kids Cafe" sites in Utah County, and one in Price.

The meals are not just for summer schoolers. Anyone age 18 or younger can show up at a designated time and receive a free lunch, snack or supper, depending on the location, which can include parks.

"This is going to be a real breakthrough," said Ginette Bott, chief development officer for the Utah Food Bank. "It's a pretty simple fact that Utah has a lot of kids who are challenged with hunger."

At Esperanza Elementary, Bott's group is fronting the cost of lunch for 125 summer students and other youngsters at different locations before receiving reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The assistance is welcome.

"Our students have high need," said Julia Barrientos, Esperanza vice principal.

The program has allowed Barrientos to increase her summertime teaching staff this year by 50 percent, she said, up to 15 from last year's 10.

The bulk of her $63,400 summer school program is covered by the state's Department of Workforce Services. But without the extra help from the food bank last year, she still had to come up with an extra $8,000 to provide a midday menu of string cheese, fruit and animal crackers for summer-school students.

"It was a snack," Barrientos said. "Not a meal."

On Wednesday morning at 11:15, the first wave of about 50 students crowded around lunch tables over trays of breaded chicken strips, salad with ranch dressing, canned peaches and chocolate milk. It was the first day of the summer session.

The brain food and the break from schoolwork were needed, suggested third-grader Tony Ojeda. "Subtracting's hard," he said, but "the milk is sweet."

Utah's participation in the federal summer initiative dates to 1975, but it has increased steadily in recent years, said Matt Anderson, child care program coordinator at the State Office of Education. This year's new 45 lunch spots bring the statewide total to 283.

In the 2015-2016 school year, a Utah family of four must have earned an income of less than $44,800 for their children to be eligible for the reduced-price meal and $31,500 for the fee to be waived.

Anderson notes that there's no income threshold for the free summer lunches, which aim to help low-income families even when school is not in session.

Twitter:@anniebknox —

New Locations

The Utah Food Bank is bringing free lunches for children and teens to these new locations across the state. For a full list, got to http://www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks.

Utah County

Spanish Fork Library

100 E. 50 South, Spanish Fork

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Payson Memorial Park

300 S. Main

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 1:30-3 p.m.

Santaquin Centennial Park

300 W. 100 South

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 10:30 a.m.-noon

Springville Splash Pad/Library

45 S. Main

June 13 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 1:45-3p.m.

Carbon County

Price Library

159 E. Main

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 2-3p.m.

Salt Lake County

Columbus Library

2530 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City

June 11 to Aug. 20

Saturdays, noon-1p.m.

Glendale Library

1375 S. Concord St. (1235 West), Salt Lake City

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 3-4p.m.

Hunter Library

4740 W. 4100 South, West Valley City

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 3-4 p.m.

Kearns Library

4220 W. 5350 South

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 3-3:30 p.m.

Magna Library

2675 S. 8950 West

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Ruth Vine Tyler Library

8041 S. Wood St. (5500 West), Midvale

June 6 to Aug. 19

Monday-Friday 3:30-4 p.m.