Second Harvest kicks off free summer lunch program

By Ashley Luthans

At school, children in need can receive free lunches every day. But during the summer, some parents may be worried about where to get their child’s next meal.

Second Harvest Community Food Bank kicked off its annual No Hunger Summer program on Monday, June 17, in St. Joseph to provide free lunches to children ages 18 and under in the community.

Many volunteers came out to help pack, deliver and distribute approximately 500 lunches for the first day of the program this year.

Mackenzie Osborn, the communications coordinator for Second Harvest, said the program is important to fill a gap that appears over the summer.

“I think that the No Hunger Summer program is really important because, throughout the school year, we have several programs that help children like Backpack Buddies for the weekend and Campus Cupboards that help families throughout the year, but then when summer comes around, those aren’t here anymore,” Osborn said. “So, we do the No Hunger Summer program to kind of alleviate that stress of figuring out where to get food throughout the summer.”

This is Osborn’s seventh year with No Hunger Summer, and she said it’s a favorite of hers.

“My experience with this program has been great,” Osborn said. “It really is one of my favorite programs that we do. Helping children is really important to me because they’re one of our most vulnerable populations that we have. And so, making sure that they have enough food so that they’re able to learn and grow is really important.”

Faith Courtney is the children’s initiative coordinator at Second Harvest. This is Courtney’s first year being a part of No Hunger Summer, and she said that her personal experiences give her an extra love for the program.

“It’s been amazing,” Courtney said. “I knew going in that I had kind of a heart for this area because I’ve been on both sides … It’s dear to my heart because I know that when you don’t have enough, that’s all that’s on your mind.”

Families are free to show up to any of the distribution sites Monday through Friday from noon to 1 p.m. to pick up lunches; no sign-up is required.

A list of locations for the lunch distribution can be found at shcfb.org/no-hunger-summer. To volunteer with Second Harvest, visit shcfb.org/volunteer.