The Kroc Center is a place where all can worship, have access to free meals, volunteer services, and childcare.  

Joan Kroc—wife of Ray Kroc the founder of McDonalds — donated the funds of $1.5 billion to build 26 Kroc Centers in the United States of America in her last will and testament.   

Ashland’s center was built in 2009 as, “the first to be built east of the Mississippi,” stated Dan Lawson the director of community involvement and relations of Ashland County’s Kroc center.  

As a tribute to Joan Kroc’s dreams for the Centers, the Ashland Kroc Center gives freshly cooked lunch meals out every day at no cost to people. These meals are served from 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.   

The kitchen staff on hand serve food to those who may be facing financial hardships or those who want something different than their normal. 

According to Lawson, “We [the Kroc center] serve over 100,500 meals a year out of this kitchen.” 

On top of the lunch programs, the center offers free perishable food items to anyone in need daily. This can be anything from bread to pumpkins.  

The center is also its own local food bank, where those in need can get groceries for their families once a month at no charge. They take into consideration the number of those in the household, to decide how much food is given to each person or family.  

The nonperishable food items the pantry receives are given to seniors who may not have the means to go out all of the time.  

Kids under the age of 18 in the summer months on weekdays from 12 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. get free food at the Kroc too.  

If assistance with caring for children before or after school is needed, the Kroc Center assists parents with this too. In the summer months they offer an all-day program as well. 

The center hosts a HeadStart program for kids before the age of five for kindergarten.  

The Kroc Center isn’t just for kids and helping assist with their care; but it also has an indoor fitness area for adults to use for classes and independent use. They have staff who will watch kids in the designated location during certain hours.  

On top of the fitness center, the Kroc center also has numerous other indoor athletic opportunities.  

With an indoor area about one third the size of a football field, the center has a place for soccer, Lazer tag, baseball and softball, bounce houses, and more. This facility can be rented out to sports teams, individuals for parties, and sporting events. 

The Kroc Center even has their own soccer league for kids to play in. They hold tournaments in house and have a concession stand for those who need snacks too.  

On top of the indoor field, they also have an indoor basketball court. In this facility they can do many things, different things as well. The most popular are Stunt (like cheerleading), roller skating and the annual father daughter dance. 

At Christmas time, both the indoor soccer field and the basketball courts are used to store the items donated to the center’s adopt-a-family and angel tree programs. Both rooms get filled to the brim with generous donations from people of the Ashland Community.  

The Kroc center is also equipped with its very own indoor water park. Inside the water park there is a lazy Susan, two waterslides, a play area for little ones, and some more. The deepest the water goes is four- and one-half foot. A membership or day pass can be purchased to enjoy the waterpark.  

In the summer there is also a splash pad open to the public. It is free and this is where the summer meals are distributed to kids under the age of 18.  

For more information pertaining to The Kroc Community center, check out its website.