Starting June 25 and continuing into August, Share’s Summer Meals program will provide free meals for kids at locations throughout Clark County; approximately 27,000 meals are expected to be served.
Share’s Summer Meals program focuses on providing fresh, healthy meals, including fruits and vegetables, so that children in our community do not face hunger during the summer months when school doors are closed. The program’s success is due to the many partners and sponsors who help keep this program running each year, especially Evergreen Public Schools for donating the use of kitchen space at Covington Middle School.
“When children go hungry, their basic needs aren’t being met and then they can’t reach higher goals and aspirations,” said Katie Dwailebee, hunger response assistant director. “If children don’t have enough nutritious food, they not only suffer physically, but they also face a lifetime effort to move beyond that basic struggle to survive towards being able to thrive.”
Share needs volunteers to prepare and deliver meals (breakfast and lunch) to all Summer Meals locations from June 25 to August 10 (Monday to Friday only). A complete list of volunteer opportunities is available at www.sharevancouver.org. To sign-up, please e-mail [email protected] or call (360) 952-8228.
This year’s program will serve meals at 22 locations, including apartment complexes, local schools, Police Activities League (PAL) camps, Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation camps, as well as local churches and community partners.
A complete schedule of dates and times during which meals will be served at all locations is available at sharevancouver.org. All the locations are open sites and all children age 18 and under are welcome to come and enjoy a free meal even if they are not enrolled in the program.
June through August, families can call the Family Food Hotline 1-888-4-FOOD-WA to receive up-to-date information about locations for free lunches for kids across the state.
Summer Meals is sponsored by the Simplified Summer Food Service Program; additional funding comes through donations from individuals and private foundation grants. Meals will be made available at no charge to attending children age 1- 18 years.
