Lowcountry Food Bank partners with Summer Food Service Program and offers meals at no-charge for kids 18 and younger
May 28, 2024
Nutritious meals available for all kids 18 and younger! Kids and teens can access summer meals at multiple locations
Click here to find summer meals sites and dates.
Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB) is participating in the Summer Food Service Program in 2024. Nutritious food will be provided to children 18 years old and younger without charge.
The program begins June 11th and continues for eight weeks. The food distribution sites are chosen based on their accessibility, where food service gaps exist, and their capacity to serve children who may need meals the most. The sites include day camps, parks and recreation centers, public libraries, and faith-based organizations. Meal sites, service dates, and service times are listed in the link within this document. The meal site information is subject to change.
Free summer meals can also be located using No Kid Hungry’s texting tool. Simply text the word “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304 to find a nearby meal site.
This program serves children who face hunger during the summer when school meals may not be available. During the school year, the National Breakfast and School Lunch Programs play a pivotal role in fighting childhood hunger.
The food insecurity rate remains high at 12.1% in the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina the LCFB serves. This is equivalent to 184,480 of our neighbors, of whom 50,270 are children. LCFB strategically works to ensure that every neighbor who may be experiencing food insecurity has equitable access to healthy food.
Expiration of post-pandemic benefit programs and economic inflation have disproportionately affected communities already facing momentous challenges of underemployment, low income, a lack of transportation, and access to grocery stores. LCFB continues to innovate, not only focusing on the food we distribute, but also on deepening our understanding and responses to the root causes of hunger, food insecurity, and how these issues can best be addressed in the varying and unique communities we serve.
LCFB prepares summer meals in the Zucker Family Production Kitchen in Charleston, which meets all current USDA guidelines. The program ensures children have access to nutritious food, including fresh produce, throughout the summer.
This program enables the Lowcountry Food Bank to provide year-round hunger relief to children throughout our community. During the school year, the Lowcountry Food Bank partners with public schools to provide essential meals to children and their families through the BackPack Buddies, Kids Café, School Pantry and School Market programs. Families are also able to receive food assistance at faith-based and non-profit organizations that partner with Lowcountry Food Bank. However, additional food resources are needed during the summer when school meals may not be available, and this summer program fulfills this need with eight weeks of food service beginning in mid-June through mid-August.
About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.
The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 42 million pounds of food in 2023. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to more than 230 partner agencies including on-site meal programs, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information, go to the Lowcountry Food Bank website at lowcountryfoodbank.org.
