Summer Feeding for All Kids

For most of this past decade Project SHARE has run a summer Lunch & Learn program for children up to the age of 12.  The program aimed to address the summer slump in learning that occurs with some children.  Unfortunately the COVID pandemic put a damper on “in person” congregant classroom settings.  As a result, both the 2020 and 2021 Lunch & Learn programs redirected their emphasis and methods while continuing to nourish the community of children.  The Summer Feeding Program for All Kids is held with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).  The Lunch & Learn program was serving approximately 130 kids a week for a breakfast snack and lunch for 3 days a week. The new model, built out of necessity, raised the level of meals served to a wider audience.  In 2020 over 52,000 meals were served to hundreds of children throughout the region to cover not just 3 but all 7 days of the week.  This is the continuing model for 2021.

Starting on June 11th, and continuing every Friday morning from 9 to 11, up to August 13th, Project SHARE will be serving a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches from 3 locations in the region for all children aged 0 to 18.  This is an expansion into the teenage years of voracious appetites!  The first location for drive-thru distribution will be at SHARE’s headquarters (HQ) on North Orange Street in Carlisle.  The second will be in the parking lot behind Amelia Givin Library in Mt. Holly which will be supervised and coordinated by Janet Kacsur and her husband Chip Kacsur assisting.

This summer a third site is opening thanks to the generosity of the congregation at Plainfield First Church of God led by Pastor Jim Klock.  Pastor Klock noted that “We are particularly pleased to be a part of opening this service to families in this region on the western edge of Carlisle to serve the wider community here.  We know that Plainfield and folks in the Big Spring area will also be welcomed.”

All three sites will be ready to welcome and serve any and all families through their parent or guardian.  Children are welcomed but are not required to accompany parents or guardians.

Each of the Summer Feeding for Kids locations will be staffed by friendly, trained volunteers prepared to do quick and easy service.  There are no forms to fill out , or requirements other than a need and desire to accept the food.

The menus are being coordinated by Project SHARE’s Nutrition Coordinator, Emma Witwer, who is promising both nutritious and tasty offerings for those who come to any of these locations.  Offerings will include fresh sandwiches and wraps made in-house, farm fresh fruit from the gleaning harvest accomplished by Project SHARE.  There will be kid friendly entrees like Make Your Own Quesadilla meal kits and meatball subs, and a fan favorite from last year’s program – frozen pizzas from Mickey’s in York. Emma is also supervising the Project SHARE distribution site for this program.

Additionally, books are also an added bonus for families who come to the June 11th distribution.  Based on the response, they will also be a part of distributions every other week thereafter or until the supply runs out.  The advice is to come early and often throughout the summer.   The mostly new books and some gently pre-owned books come from various sources.  New books are from Barnes & Noble in Camp Hill, who have traditionally run a Holiday Book drive during the holidays.  The last in person store campaign was in December of 2019.

A very substantial supply of books were recently sourced by SHARE’s team, of current and former educators, at the Capital Region Literacy Council, led by Joe Bedard out of his international headquarters (garage).  Bedard is a real estate agent who decided that there was a need in Harrisburg and the region to provide new books to children at no charge.  Since then, “Joe” has distributed tens of thousands of books in the region through organizations like Project SHARE.  Titles for this summer’s distribution have been divided by SHARE’s education team into grade levels and include many popular titles.

A special “Reading Challenge” will be a part of this summer’s program.  This will end with the awarding of prizes given to participants based on the Summer Book Bingo collection of entry draws, given for every child, during book distribution weeks.

Once again, all households are welcome to participate in this Friday morning distribution event.  Further information can be found on Project SHARE’s website at projectSHAREpa.org by clicking the Summer Feeding for Kids slide on the top of the Home Page.

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