THE DETAILS
Summer is quickly approaching, and that means vacations, warm weather, and school is officially out! Unfortunately, summer also means that some children will worry about when they’ll eat next. Summer is the hungriest season of the year for many children because they can no longer have access to free school meals. According to Feeding America, 9 million children in the United States are food insecure and more than 22 million students depend on school breakfast and lunch everyday.
Feeling hungry makes it difficult for children to play, and connect with other kids their age. It can also lead to poor educational performance when school begins. Since March, SNAP eligible families have lost a minimum of about $95 in SNAP, making it even more difficult to purchase food, without the extra support. Along with the rising costs of groceries, families are struggling to put food on the table.
Through our Summer Hunger program, Philabundance is committed to helping support children and their families during the summer meal gap.
OUR PROGRAMS
LunchBox:
LunchBox is a free meal program for children facing food insecurity.
Ready-to-eat, healthy meals are prepared by the Philabundance Community Kitchen and feature lunch and breakfast kits which are distributed through various participating community partners. To learn more about the LunchBox program, click here.
Let’s Eat:
This meal kit program features a healthy abundance of ingredients and groceries, and includes simple recipes to create healthy, delicious meals.
Cooking demonstrations will be held by the PCK lead chefs throughout the summer at the Philabundance Community Kitchen. These meals are then sent to our community partners for distribution throughout the nine counties we serve.
HOW TO HELP
Summer Hunger is a serious issue across the country, so to help us alleviate food insecurity this season, here are a few impactful ways we can work together:
Advocate: Volunteer your voice and advocate for programs that help relieve child hunger. No one should go hungry, and your voice, perspective, and expertise matters! Visit our advocacy page to learn how you can help!
Donate: Both non-perishable and monetary donations are greatly appreciated! Donating food from your cabinet, or getting friends, family and coworkers involved by hosting a traditional or virtual food drive are great ways to provide healthy food and relieve hunger in our service area.
Monetary donations help us purchase high-quality food for children and families in need and your donation can help provide 2 meals to children in need.
Food Donations help provide families with the shelf stable items needed for their cabinets or pantries. Non-perishable food items such as peanut butter, cooking oil, canned vegetables, canned tuna, etc can help provide stability and nourishment for families in need.
Volunteer at PCK: Volunteering your time and talents at the Philabundance Community Kitchen and helping prepare ready-to-eat meals, helps support our LunchBox program and feed children facing hunger. To sign up for a shift at PCK, click here.
