The “splash pads” spurting cold water weren’t the only big draw at the Galvin Playground Sprinkler during Thursday’s summer heat.

It had barely pulled up to the curb near the playground when the New Haven Food Truck was already drawing a crowd.

The truck, through a partnership between United Way of Greater New Haven’s Women’s Initiative and New Haven Public Schools, delivers nutritious meals to city youths under age 18 – free of charge – at various sites on weekdays. Learn more about the truck and its schedule here.

Thursday’s menu included a salad topped with chicken, an apple, juice and milk.

Several Women’s Initiative members visited to see the truck in action during its lunch and dinner stops, chatting with the children and their families while handing out colorful pencils and temporary tattoos. University of New Haven Athletics Director Deborah Chin, who visited the truck during lunchtime, even offered basketball pointers to a young boy who arrived at the playground with a basketball in hand. "It's great," she said of the food truck and its work.

“For some people, this is the excitement of their day, watching the food truck pull up,” said Rev. Alfred Boyd, who drives the truck during its breakfast and lunch stops. “I love it.”

Boyd, who lives in Cheshire but grew up in New Haven and works for the city schools, said he enjoys delivering meals. Working the breakfast and lunch shifts, he said he typically hands out about 70 breakfasts and between 180 and 190 lunches each day.

He doesn’t mind foregoing his summer vacation to work on the truck, he said, and loves seeing how excited the children get when they see the brightly colored vehicle pull into their neighborhood.

“We’re feeding people that are in need,” Boyd said. “It’s very important.”