ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — As summer begins, many students are losing the lunches they receive at school, creating financial hardships for families who have to add money to their grocery budgets.
In response, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County has partnered with Meals on Wheels to expand its free summer food service program.
Through the program, anyone 18 or under in Orange County can receive free snacks and lunch at any of 46 participating locations.
Ellie Ding, director of programs and services at Second Harvest Food Bank, said the program is a lifeline for many parents.
“We know that about half of Orange County kids rely on free or reduced-price meals while they’re in school during the school year, so when they don’t have access to those meals in the summer, we call it the summer nutrition gap, so we’re working to fill that gap and increase the number of sites so we can feed more kids across Orange County,” Ding said.
The program operates year-round, but not only does it see higher demand during the summer, but it has also seen an increase in the number of people needing its services in recent years.
“In Orange County, the number of kids who are food insecure, who may not have reliable access to nutritious food, used to be one in 11. And recently, new data has shown that it’s actually one in eight. And I think you’re feeling that. Food is getting more expensive. The cost of living is really high right now. So families are being pushed to the limits,” Ding said.
According to the most recent data available, 12% of U.S. households, or 44 million people, were food insecure in 2022.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected food prices would rise 2.2%.
That’s why the program provides 2,000 children with two meals a day and helps the entire community, Dinh said.
Some of those children are helping Perla Escamilla, manager of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana, deliver the meals.
“The kids are really happy because they have access to fruit, grains and dairy products,” Escamilla said.
The club’s summer program is one of the participating venues, but anyone under 18 can dine for free, regardless of whether they’re a club member or not.
“It’s nice when parents are passing through our community and see their kids can receive free meals and they can come and get them,” Escamilla said.
The impact goes beyond helping parents financially or meeting the nutritional standards their children need: A 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine showed that food insecurity in children correlates with increased stress and anxiety.
So these organisations work together to ensure that no child goes underfed.
Call 211 to find the nearest location and distribution hours.
