Summer Food Service - Food Bank of Eastern Michigan

For many students and families, the end of the school year also signals the end of access to school-provided free and reduced price meals.

Look for our “Meet Up And Eat Up” signs at all of our summer food service locations.

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan helps fill this gap by providing healthy meals at our summer feeding sites throughout Genesee, Gladwin, Saginaw, and Lapeer counties. Our Summer Food Service Program, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), aims to fill that gap, providing children with free, healthy meals during the summer months when school is not in session and when many children often face missing meals and lack of proper nutrition. More than 21 million children receive free and reduced-price meals during the school year, but only 17% of these children participate in the Summer Food Service Program.

Every summer, the Food Bank partners with 40-60 feeding sites to help keep young people nourished and healthy. As a sponsor of the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), the Food Bank distributes more than 80,000 meals through daily deliveries to each location during the summer. Breakfast and lunch are provided daily by the Food Bank, as well as kid-friendly treats.

We don’t stop there—the Food Bank also strives to provide healthy snacks in our Summer Take Home Nutrition Nags. They are offered at every site and are for children to take home and enjoy over the weekend. The bags contain pre-cut vegetables, fresh fruit, granola bars, milk, and 100% juice. Since the program’s inception in 2011, the Food Bank has distributed more 75,000 nutrition bags.

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The Food Bank is currently recruiting sites to serve meals this summer.

Sites can be churches, organizations, housing complexes, or schools, and must be located in an area where more than 50 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunches. The sites must also serve no less than 20 children per day. The Summer Food Service Program runs from mid-June until the end of August.

For more information regarding the Summer Food Service Program or to discuss becoming a site, please contact Kathleen Payton at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan @ 810-396-0227

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Discrimination Policy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Donate to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan this holiday season and your gift can have TWICE the impact thanks to a match from our friends Big John Steak and Onion.

As always, 98% of your contribution goes directly to food and feeding programs. Partnerships with grocers, food manufacturers, and distributors help leverage every dollar into six meals for those in need.

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VOLUNTEER AT THE FOOD BANK