DETROIT – Gleaners Community Food Bank announced Tuesday the launch of its Summer Food Service Program, with summer meal sites beginning July 1.
The program will complement Gleaners’ food distribution programs through its more than 500-member partner network, emergency food distribution sites and emergency food box delivery programs to meet increased community need through the COVID-19 crisis.
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“Every child deserves a hunger free summer, and this year the need for our work to get food into the community is even greater,” said Gerry Brisson, president and CEO of Gleaners. “Children have been without access to school meals since mid-March, and without dedicated summer food programs, many kids in our community would spend the summer wondering where their next meal will come from. Gleaners is dedicated to being a stabilizing resource for our kids.”
This year’s Summer Food Service Program will use multiple distribution models to meet the needs of children or special needs adults aged 19-26 across southeast Michigan.
Grocery sites: These 41 sites provide fresh milk, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and shelf-stable items to supply enough food for children to have multiple breakfasts and lunches prepared by their families in their own homes. Groceries are provided in a drive-thru set-up.
Meal sites: These 21 sites will be offered in two formats: providing take-home or onsite nutritionally-balanced, pre-prepared breakfasts and/or lunches.
The take-home model allows families with children to pick up the pre-prepared meals once or twice weekly, using a drive-thru set-up.
Onsite meals are provided while children are engaged in scheduled programming (such as summer camps or daycare facilities) at each site, with safety protocols in place.
Mobile Delivery sites: These 28 sites will provide families with lunches five days a week, delivered by refrigerated truck at pre-scheduled times to low-income housing neighborhoods. Parents or siblings can pick up the daily meals from the trucks for children in the household.
For more information you can visit, www.hungerfreesummer.org.