Monday, July 16, 2007

Feeding Summer Fun!

The carefree days of summer days of lemonade, swimming pools and backyard cookouts are finally upon us. For too many of Lubbock's children, however, summer is a season of hunger. When school doors close for vacation, two key safeguards against childhood hunger the School Breakfast Program and the national School Lunch program are no longer available. To help bridge the nutrition gap during the summer months, the South Plains Food Bank is once again sponsoring the federally-funded Summer Food Service Program.

Tammy Hester is the Executive Chef and Program Director for the Food Bank's Summer Food Service Program. She says the program serves and average of 400-500 breakfasts and 500-600 lunches every day. Hester says the Summer Food Service Program provided at total of 15,975 meals in the month of June alone.

The South Plains Food Bank offers 12 summer food sites. They are :

Mae Simmons Community Center
Phea Boys and Girls Club
Copper Rawlings Community Center
Vandelia Church
Parkway/Guadalupe Neighborhood Center
Wilson Boy and Girls Club
Optimist Boys and Girls Club
Maggie Trejo Community Center
Asbury United Methodist Church
Central Church of Christ
GRUB
Bridge 2 Success

It is not too late to get involved with the Summer Food Service program. Anyone who comes to a participating site will be fed, though food is provided on a “first come first served” basis. Meal times at participating sties vary, but breakfast is generally from 8 to 9am and lunch is generally served around noon. The last day of the Summer Food program will be August 17th. Classes in LISD resume on August 29th.

In the future, SPFB hopes to sponsor even more sites, working towards the day when no child in Lubbock faces an empty stomach when the school bell rings for the last time.