In 2019, 31 kids had Lunch with a Cop. This is more than double from 2018. This program allows us to have 1-on-1 time and build positive relationships with the youth in our community. Going into 2020, we have 49 kids on our waiting list. The program received 2 generous donations in 2019 from Exmark and Traubel’s Popcorn for a total of $750. We are fortunate to have continued donations from our community to keep this program going. There are times where a customer, business, or officer will pay for the lunch. This year we had 6 lunches paid for by either a customer or business.
With the permission of the parent, the lunch date gets shared on our Beatrice Police Department Facebook page. The best part is sharing how funny and inspiring these kids are. Our goal is to have lunch with at least 2 children a month. In order to take a child out for lunch we must be sufficiently staffed to allow the officer uninterrupted time with the child. In 2019 we hired our last officer, bringing us to full staffing for road patrol. With our last officer being fully trained in early 2020, we hope to see an increase in how many kids we get to take to take out to lunch.
