A restaurant owner was disheartened with children that spend time on phones at family dinners. She started an in-house library to get kids to make the switch.
KUNA, Idaho — A Kuna restaurant is turning regular family dinners into opportunities for connection and learning.
This is thanks to a unique idea and community partnership, Ana Paz, one of the owners of Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant, started an initiative that gives free books to children and families dining at the restaurant.
“I started thinking, ‘What can I do with the with what I have with the restaurant’,” Paz said.
The idea sparked when Paz frequently noticed families, and especially children, spent a lot of their meals staring at screens rather than engaging with one another.
“We had been seeing for a long time that the kids were not interacting with the parents,” she said. “They were just on their phones.”
Wanting to create a more meaningful experience, Paz reached out to the Kuna Early Learning with the idea of stocking up an in-house library that would provide free books for children to read and take home.
“We’ve always wanted a business member in our collaborative group,” said Ludee Vermaas, Director of Kuna Early Learning. “I think Anna is just so creative thinking out of the box how she can support families and children.”
The collaborative embraced the idea and reached out for help from Book It Forward, a program run by Idaho Voices for Children, that helped start the library by giving Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant hundreds of books.
Paz said the small library started giving out books in September this year and now donates an average of about 100 books every week.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive with families visiting Enrique’s.
“They’re taking initiative for our kids education,” said Nedi Medina, a parent and customer at Enrique’s. “It’s something interactive, something different and we love that here they could actually learn something and enjoy a book instead of being on her phone.”
Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (Idaho AEYC), played a role in the initiative as the group is a supporter of Kuna Early Learning.
Idaho AEYC supports 25 Early Learning Collaboratives across the state, advocating for high-quality early education and the well-being of children and families.
This initiative is just one example of how local businesses and organizations can work together to create a supportive and connected community.
Families dining at Enrique’s can now walk away with more than just a delicious meal—they leave with a new story to read, a wholesome family experience.
“What we’ve always strived to do, is not be afraid of doing something different,” Paz said.
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