How Montgomery County is working to fight food insecurity for schoolchildren during summer
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) — The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit is working hard to end food insecurity for schoolchildren during summer break.
"I want Coco Pops," declared one camper Thursday at the summer day camp at Hancock Elementary School in Norristown.
Another camper, 6-year-old Sophia Gambone-Sanford said she looks forward to eating with her friends every morning.
"I feel really positive for that because they make the food that we really like," Sophia said.
The fridge was packed with lunches for the children. The MCIU Summer Meals Program serves 89 families, and they said this is a huge help.
"We all know how expensive food is right now," Gambone-Sanford's grandmother Tameka Johnson said. "So, it's saving us money."
She said she also looks forward to the breakfast and lunch offered at the camp.
"Less stress. Two meals that we don't have to worry about throughout the summer," Johnson said. "So, it's so helpful."
The MCIU leads the summer meals program. Food service coordinator Kristen Barrett said children do not have to be at a day camp to get nutritious food.
"We also offer an open program that just allows kids that are not enrolled in a program to go and pick up a meal once or twice a day near their home," Barrett said.
The need is critical during the summer for many families who rely on breakfast and lunch served during the school year.
"So much need," Barrett said. "It's great that we can get so many in the community because we are touching different areas. Kids don't have to go as far to get their meals then."
That is good news to families like Johnson's.
"They have peace of mind knowing that throughout the day, their children are not going to be hungry," Johnson said. "It's something that they don't have to worry about."
With no worries about eating, these kids got to focus on making great summer memories.
The MCIU Summer Meals Program offers meals at the George Washington Carver Center in Norristown from noon until 1 p.m. and 3 until 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday through Aug. 18.
In Lansdale, children can have lunch at Wissahickon Park from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. through Aug. 22. To find other open sites in your area, text "Summer Meals" to 914-342-7744 or call 866-348-6479.