Unfortunately, some of those youngsters go hungry. They simply don’t get the nutritious meals they count on during the school year.
Some youngsters accompany their parents to a local food bank to supplement the family’s grocery shopping. Still other kids rely on a summer feeding program at a neighborhood school, at their apartment complex or a community park.
Thurston County is extremely fortunate to have almost 20 feeding programs that will serve up to 3,000 youngsters during July and August. Families looking to give something back to their community can support the sponsors of the feeding programs and area food banks.
Who would think that transportation would be a key barrier to feeding hungry kids? As Robert Coit, executive director of the Thurston County Food Bank said, “There is no big yellow bus in July and August, and that’s really a challenge.”
It’s why the Food Bank’s summer feeding program goes on the road, taking lunches to the youngsters. “We go to them instead of expecting them to come to us,” Coit said. “It really is about transportation. We don’t think about it, but it’s a huge barrier.”
Coit said he’d support year-around school, for that very reason. “It’s a whole lot easier to manage a two-week break than a nine-week break, even if you have more frequent two-week breaks. It would help keep the kids fed throughout the year,” Coit said.
That transportation barrier is why the Food Bank began its mobile program that delivers lunches along routes in Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater during the summer.
“Think of it as an ice cream truck,” Coit said. “A van that goes into a low-income neighborhood; you honk the horn and give out food for 15 minutes. That’s taking the food to where the kids are, versus expecting the kids to come to you.”
A typical lunch included a package of pine nuts, a juice box, graham crackers, a turkey-and-cheese sandwich and a carton of milk. There also were lunches with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or tuna salad.
Other summer feeding programs are held at the Rochester Community Center, Madison Elementary School, Meadows Elementary School, Lions Park, Jefferson Middle School, Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School, Mountain View Elementary School, Pleasant Glade Elementary School and Lydia Hawk Elementary School, among others.
Several of the programs are associated with day camps and summer playground programs, and most are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program. There’s no requirement to provide proof of income or residency, and children don’t have to participate in the camps or programs to receive a meal, said Coit.
In addition to the feeding programs, summer sees an increase in the number of families who turn to the Food Bank for assistance. Many families, especially large families, can stretch their food budget when the kids are receiving free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch at school. They save their trips to the Food Bank for the summer months when they lose that resource.
That’s why the postal workers’ drive in May is so critical to the Food Bank, Coit said. It comes at the precise time when additional families are showing up at the Food Bank door.
This year postal workers and their supporters picked up 149,000 pounds of food donated by community residents. That’s an increase of 20 percent from the 2010 food drive.
The 45 pallets of food will keep the Food Bank shelves flush through the middle of July, Coit said. That’s about the same time local produce begins arriving at the Food Bank. That fresh produce allows the Food Bank to save the donated cans of corn and peas and other vegetables for distribution later in the year.
Even with those additional resources, Coit said, the Food Bank will have to purchase food for distribution because of the significant increase in clients during the summer months.
The South Sound community is fortunate to have food banks and summer feeding programs available to battle hunger in Thurston County. It’s a year around challenge – a challenge met by the incredible generosity of South Sound residents who contribute to area food banks in the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors.
We are a fortunate community indeed.
