The Lowcountry Food Bank has announced that it will be participating in this year’s summer food service program, providing free food to children 18 and under.
It’s an eight-week program that begins June 11. Food distribution sites are located throughout the Lowcountry in Charleston, Horry, Dorchester, Beaufort and Jasper counties. Distribution locations are day camps, parks and recreation centers, public libraries and religious organizations.
A list of Lowcountry Food Bank meal locations can be found at https://lowcountryfoodbank.org/summermeals/.
The Lowcountry Food Bank said people can also use the No Kid Hungry text messaging tool to find meals. Simply text the word “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304 to find a meal location near you.
The program was designed to help children who are “facing hunger” during the summer months when school meals are not provided.
The Lowcountry Food Bank said the food insecurity rate in the 10 Lowcountry counties it serves is 12.1 percent. The organization said this “equates to 184,480 neighbors, 50,270 of whom are children.”
The Food Bank is working to address these high numbers by providing healthy, accessible food to communities in need. Through their summer feeding program, the Food Bank will be setting up 15 meal sites for children in need.
Meals for the food bank’s summer meal program will be prepared at the Zucker Family Production Kitchen in Charleston and will follow USDA food guidelines.
This is just one of the summer programs created to help ensure children have access to food this summer: Beaufort County School District also announced its participation in the USDA National Summer Food Program.
A copy of the district’s press release, including food distribution locations, can be found at https://www.beaufortschools.net/about-us/whats-new-default-board/~board/whats-new/post/summer-food-service-program .
