Food For People Offers Free Children’s Summer Lunch Program

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Eureka, Ca. (KIEM) — The Food for People food bank here in Eureka launched their children’s summer lunch program this week. They tend to see food shortages this time of year. To try and help compensate for that, they started the summer lunch program for kids.

With summer fast approaching, the food for people food bank is gearing up for one of the busiest times of the year.

“It’s interesting that we typically think of the holidays as the busiest time of year for food banks and the winter months, when actually it is the summer time,” according to Executive Director Anne Holcomb.

One reason for the increase in people taking advantage of the food bank is the lack of food available to children when school is out of session.

“When school is out, those resources are no longer available and that can really put a strain on a family’s budget. So that is why we see more families coming in during the summer months,” Holcomb said.

This is where the children’s summer lunch program comes in. It is in its 23rd year and provides free meals for anyone under the age of 18. The food bank expects to feed nearly 12,000 kids over the course of the summer.

According to Development Director, Carly Robbins, “There are free meals there. There is no pre-registration required. Kids can just come, no questions asked, and get a free meal Monday through Friday.”

The food bank on 14 Street isn’t the only location they hold the summer lunch program. Kids can get free meals at sites across the county.

“We have 20 sites we are running now. Those are out to Hoopa and Willow Creek in the East, North to McKinleyville, and South to Fortuna,” Robbins said.

According to the food bank, it’s all about making sure kids have the food that they need to stay healthy. It’s also a way to fill in some of the gaps when it comes to food insecurity.

“It’s really important to keep our kids healthy and strong throughout the Summer so they can do their best when they are back in school,” Holcomb said.

If you want to volunteer or donate to the food bank, you can go to their website FoodForPeople.org to learn more.

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