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Summer Food Program Kicks Off in Lucas County
Free regular meals for kids at nearly 100 neighborhood sites
Special to The Truth
Thousands of kids in Lucas County have breakfast and lunch
at school. So what happens to these kids when school is out
for the summer?
Thanks to the Summer Food Program, they won’t go hungry.
At roughly 100 sites throughout Toledo, kids can receive
free meals this summer at various times. To find specific
locations and meal times, parents and their children are
encouraged to dial United Way at 2-1-1, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. Children up to age 18 can receive meals,
no questions asked.
“Our goal is to make sure no child in Lucas County goes
hungry this summer,“ said Todd Tibbits, president and CEO,
YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo. “We hope to feed even more
children this summer than we did last year.”
Community organizations, agencies and businesses including
ProMedica, Columbia Gas, United Way, Toledo Public Schools,
Feed Lucas County Children, Mercy Health Partners, the
Toledo Free Press, The Andersons and the YMCA/JCC of Greater
Toledo have come together to support the Summer Food Program
to ensure our children will not go hungry.
This federal program is funded by the United States
Department of Agriculture and administered by the Ohio
Department of Education. The locations of the feeding sites
are based on proximity to schools in which at least 50
percent of the students receive free or reduced-cost lunches
during the school year, which includes all but four of
Toledo’s Public Schools.
“We’ve got a long history of alleviating summer hunger
throughout the county. But even after serving over 150,000
meals last summer, our work is far from over,” said Tony P.
Siebeneck, founder/executive director of Feed Lucas County
Children, Inc.
“Toledo ranks number 10 in the U.S. for children living at
or below poverty, a ranking we are not proud of. We know
this program is making a difference, and we hope to make
even more of an impact this summer as we partner with more
than 80 community organizations, and expand our program to
include Saturday and Sunday meals,” he said.
Sites will be staffed with a combination of paid and
volunteer personnel and will serve one or more meals,
including breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack and/or an
early dinner, depending on the site. The food will meet
state guidelines and include milk, fruits and vegetables,
grains/bread and meat, and will be provided by a variety of
vendors. |
