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Free park meals and summer play activities for children at the Junailijakankatu daycare center in June

22.5.2023 Releases Education and training Center A child-friendly municipality Participatory budgeting Early childhood education

A happy child with two big and different colored soap bubbles in a summer landscape.
Photo: Jenniina Nummela

In the summer of 2023, the city of Riihimäki will for the first time organize a free meal in the park for children and young people from Riihimäki under the age of 18. Park dining is an experiment and it is implemented based on the idea of ​​participatory budgeting.

A soup lunch will be served in the yard of the Junailijakankatu daycare center from June 6.6 to June 30.6. on weekdays from 12.00:12.30 to 23.6:XNUMX. The exception is Midsummer's Eve, June XNUMX, when park catering is not organized.

You don't need to register for park dining in advance. Diners must bring their own cutlery: a soup plate, a spoon and their own drink, e.g. in a drinking bottle.

- About 80 portions of food are available daily and it is distributed as long as there is enough food, says the city's welfare coordinator Marjo-Kaisa Konttinen.

Children and young people are not supervised when eating, but they come with an adult or they know how to eat on their own.

Guided summer play activities for 2-10 year olds

Guided summer play activities for 2-10 year olds start on the same day, Tuesday 6.6 June. In the yard of the Junailijankatu daycare center. The guardian can leave the child to play for two hours. The activity is free of charge.

The playground is open on weekdays from June 6.6 to June 29.6. 9 a.m.–15 p.m., except on Midsummer's Eve, June 23.6.

On the first occasion, the adult bringing the child fills out the contact information form and registers when bringing the child on other days. A maximum of 30 children are taken to the field at a time. The address of the playground is Junailijankatu 12

Children participating in summer play activities do not participate in park meals. The guardians can, if they wish, take the child to the park for a meal, for example at the end of the two-hour care period or before.

Summer play activities are part of the city's normal, annually organized activities.

Park dining garnered the second most votes from city residents

Organizing a park meal garnered the second most votes from the townspeople in participatory budgeting in January 2023. 230 people from Riihmäki supported the park meal. The city spends 12 euros to implement park dining.

In participatory budgeting, Riihimäki residents over the age of 12 decide and influence how the city's public funds are used. Inclusion is one of the themes of the strategy of the city of Riihimäki. In Riihimäki, 100 euros have been set aside annually for participatory budgeting.

Instructions for visitors to park dining

  • The park meal is organized in the yard of the Junailijanjakatu daycare center by the pencil gate.
  • You don't need to register for park dining in advance.
  • Food is served as long as there is enough. If there is food left over, adults are also served.
  • There is no possibility to wash hands when eating in the park, but hand sanitizer is available at the dining area.
  • Bring your own cutlery: a cooking plate, a spoon and your own drink.
  • The food is lactose-free, there are no portions for those following special diets.

Read more about summer play activities and park dining from the city's website

Additional information