8,098 kids meals served.
That’s 8,098 times this summer that a child did not have to go hungry because they attended one of the 18 sites that participated in Catholic Charities’ Kids Summer Food Program.
Over 185,000 children in the state of Kansas qualify for free or reduced-price meals during the school year, sadly only 7% of those children have access to summer lunch programs. This sobering statistic prompted Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas to partner with Harvesters, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Education to get children proper meals during the hot summer months. The Summer Food Program feeds ALL kids under 18 AND their adult caregivers for FREE; no income requirements or registration required!
Although the program is just in its second year, the numbers are quite impressive. In addition to the 8,000+ meals for the children, over 1,100 meals were served to their parents or adult caregiver. Over 850 “weekend meal bags” were also distributed. These are bags of pre-packaged food given to participants to help supplement a meal over the weekend.
The success of the Kids Summer Food Program can be attributed to the many combined efforts of community volunteers, patrons and staff.
“We are so grateful to the 18 sites and their communities who volunteered to set up the sites, serve the food, and most importantly be the face of Christ to all those who came to our summer food sites,” added Denise Ogilvie, Vice President of Outreach and Grants Management.
If you would like your community to have a Kids Summer Food site or would like to volunteer next summer please contact Denise Ogilvie at [email protected].
