Lane County’s Free Summer Food Service Program

MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS MAKE FOOD FOR HUNGRY KIDS

Food For Lane County has invited the Board of County Commissioners and Commission on Children and Families to publicly show their support for Lane County’s free Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Lane County Commissioner Rob Handy, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, Commission on Children and Families’ Youth Commissioner Kevin Maloney and others will be participating by helping assemble meals. They will also be available to speak with members of the media.

This effort is intended to draw attention to SFSP, an incredible USDA-funded program that provides free meals to children at 58 sites located throughout Lane County during the summer, when school is out and free and reduced-price meals are not available. More than 40 percent of Lane County children qualify for free and reduced-price meals through this program, an indication of the high level of need in Lane County. All children and youth, ages 2-18 are welcome to go and have a free meal at any site; there are no individual eligibility requirements.

This event also recognizes National Summer Food Celebration Week (July 13-17), which comes at a critical time this year as the Federal Government reevaluates its funding for federal nutrition programs such as Summer Food. Community support and positive media coverage is more important now than ever. Some parents are faced with the agonizing decision of either filling the car with gas so that they can continue to get to work or purchasing food for their family. This program can help spare families this difficult choice, it also benefits the community as a whole.

Lane County’s Commission on Children and Families has promoted the Summer Food Service Program for the last five years, to increase participation and mobilize the community to support this federal food program. Food For Lane County prepares and distributes the food to sites county-wide and is reimbursed by the USDA bringing much needed federal dollars into our community.