For many families, summer is a time for family getaways and
relaxation. Unfortunately, one in five children in this nation do not get
enough food to eat, and summer vacation can easily become the hungriest time of
the year once school meals disappear.
Studies show that average family grocery bills increase by
$300 in the summer months, straining most low-income budgets beyond their
breaking points.
Nationally, more than 22 million children from low-income
families eat school lunches every day, yet only 4 million of these kids are
getting the summer meals they need. That’s five out of six kids who aren’t
getting the meals they need in the summer months.
Many families in Livingston County rely on free and reduced
lunches—Livingston County as a whole has 48 percent of students accessing the
program, with some rural communities having a rate as high as 73 percent.
In 1968, the federal government implemented the Summer Food
Service Program (SFSP) to replace the school lunches low-income children would
miss during the summer months. Many area
summer school programs access this program to feed kids for free.
The No Hunger Summer feeding program provides free lunches
to children 18 and under five days a week during the summer. Adults can join
them for just $2.00. In Chillicothe, the program is administered by the North
Missouri Center for Youth & Families located in the old Savage’s Grocery
building at 211 Locust. From June 9th
to August 11th, lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every
weekday (exceptions are July 3rd and 4th.) Kids free and adults eat for $2—hard to beat
those prices these days! NMCYF boasts
a classroom garden, so often produce from the garden is used to add even more
nutrition to the meal. Anyone and
everyone is welcome to eat through the No Hunger Summer program—there are no
income guidelines, just a desire to feed hungry kids.
Children are not the only ones in this county suffering from
food insecurity—not knowing where your next meal will come from.
Here are some other resources in our community:
Livingston County Food Pantry, located at 403 Locust across
from the Cultural Corner, distributes excess donated food from local merchants
to anyone. They regularly receive all
kinds of bread (including sweets) and produce, that local merchants donate to
avoid waste. At times, other items—such
as eggs, are donated and distributed. Emergency
Boxes are also given out to families who are struggling to feed their families.
The Food Pantry also distributes Missouri Commodity
Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) items once a month to those who meet income
guidelines.
The Pantry is not open every day, please call 247-2822 to
find out if they are open, or stop by when you see activity and grab a calendar.
The Livingston County Health Center administers the Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC.) WIC is a special supplemental nutrition program
which provides services to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children up
to their 5th birthday based on nutritional risk and income eligibility.
The primary services provided are health screening, risk assessment, nutrition
education and counseling, breastfeeding promotion and referrals to health
care. Supplemental food is provided at no cost to participants.
Depending on the food package, participants can receive
vouchers to purchase foods such as milk, cereal, juice, bread, pasta, fruits
and vegetables, peanut butter, tuna, baby food and formula.
The income guidelines for the WIC program are higher than
many. For example, a family of 4 can
make as much as $45,510 a year, or $876 a week.
Call the Health Center at 646-5506 to find out more about signing up for
the WIC Program.
The House of Prayer Rescue Mission, located at 144 Herriford
Street in Chillicothe, offers hot meals free of charge every Tuesday and
Thursday at 11:00 a.m., and Sundays at 11:15 a.m. at their location.
Chillicothe Correctional Center donates all kinds of
vegetables grown at their facility throughout the summer. Food is distributed through the agencies who
receive the vegetables.
The Pass the Taters Community Gardening Project maintains a
garden on the grounds of the old Chillicothe Correctional Center on Third
Street. Produce from their garden is
given away to families with encouragement to help with the garden in some
way. Join their Facebook Group to connect
and find out how you can be a part of this effort.
During the school year, the Grand River YMCA distributes the
Second Harvest program Backpack Buddies, which provides unperishable foods for
kids to eat over the weekend, when free or reduced lunch meals aren’t
offered. This project relies on
donations and tries to include more children every year, so if you can help in
any way, please contact Shawn Hurtgen at the YMCA, 646-6677. Children who qualify for Free and Reduced
Lunch qualify for Backpack Buddies.
All of these local efforts need your support! Please take advantage of their efforts to
help feed your family and stretch your grocery dollars.
