SAULT STE. MARIE — Lunch is served at the Bayliss Public Library this summer as a way to support children in the community.
Beginning in June and lasting throughout the summer, the Bayliss Public Library and other regional libraries will be serving free lunches as part of Feeding America’s Gather to Grow program. This is the first year the Sault library has participated in this program.
While students can obtain free meals at school during the academic year, summer vacation may mean many of them spend their days without consistent access to nutritional food.
“The community has struggled in some ways over the years,” said Bayliss Library Manager Meredith Sommers. “We have had kids at the library who come in hungry. Since the state has been doing free breakfast and lunches at the schools it has made a difference in our community, and now that the schools aren’t open this is a small way that we can help out.”
Beginning June 3 and lasting until Aug. 29, all Superior District libraries will be offering grab-and-go meals for children age 18 and under. Some developmentally delayed adults up to age 26 also qualify for the free meals.
The meal program started with Feeding America West Michigan and has been available in many locations in the Lower Peninsula. This year, it is expanding into the Upper Peninsula for the first time.
Beginning June 3 and lasting until Aug. 29, all Superior District libraries will be offering grab-and-go meals for children age 18 and under as part of Feeding America’s Gather to Grow program.
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In the first week it was open, many local children enjoyed a free lunch at the library. More are expected to take part in the coming weeks.
“In the few days we’ve been running we’ve had around 40 kids a day,” said Sommers. “When our summer reading program really kicks off this week we anticipate that we’ll see a lot more kids coming through because they’ll be at the library anyways.”
The meals often change between a variety of nut-free options. Some of the food items include cheese sticks, crackers, applesauce, hummus, juice boxes and more.
All meals are free and participants do not need to prove a need in order to receive lunch.
Each participating library has their own schedule. Bayliss is going to host their lunches from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
“We would just like to reach as many kids as we can,” said Sommers.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sault’s Bayliss Public Library offers summer meal program through Feeding America’s Gather to Grow program