Community joins forces to feed kids while summer meal program is on hold

By Reader Staff

For local children, summer vacation is a time for swimming, biking and playing with friends. For the 40% of children in east Bonner County who depend on free and reduced-cost meals during the school year, summertime also means reduced access to food.

The Lake Pend Oreille School District has provided summer meals to children in low-income households for many years through the USDA Summer Food Service Program grant. However, a one-summer pause has been put on the program locally due to the much-needed expansion of the refrigerator and freezer space at the Child Nutrition Warehouse, where inventory for all schools in the district is held. That means LPOSD is unable to serve and store meals for the program this summer.

Several community organizations have come together to ensure that kids are nourished to play, grow and stay active during the summer.

“Let’s Picnic!” is a partnership between Bonner Community Food Bank, East Bonner County Library District, Food For Our Children, Kaniksu Land Trust, LPOSD and the University of Idaho Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center, which was created to feed kids during summer vacation through a grassroots community effort. The partnership is pooling its resources to coordinate the project, while support from the community remains vital to its success.

Multiple sponsorship levels are available. A single child can be sponsored for $30 per week or $130 per month. An entire week of lunches can be sponsored for $1,500, or a month of lunches can be provided for $7,500. Donations are accepted in any amount. The “Let’s Picnic!” partnership has set a goal of $85,000 to fund the project for the entire summer.

“It is difficult to think about the number of children in our county who experience hunger every day,” said Michele Murphree of Food For Our Children. “During the school year, Food For Our Children provides nearly 14,000 bags of weekend food for our elementary school kids who otherwise may not have access to sufficient food until Monday morning, when a school breakfast is provided. This hunger doesn’t disappear during the summer months.”

The program will serve children 1-18 years of age. They can pick up a prepared lunch Monday-Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Bonner County Library (1407 Cedar St. in Sandpoint) or at Kootenai Elementary (301 Sprague St. in Kootenai, where lunches will be distributed at the school’s Hope Street entrance). The program runs June 20-Sept. 2. There are no income requirements and no questions asked.

Meals will be prepared and distributed thanks to growing community support. Each week a seperate group will volunteer to prepare lunches and distribute them at the two locations.

The Sandpoint library branch has enlisted its newly formed Teen Leadership Council to assist in the distribution of lunches at that site. 

“We are so glad to be able to give the community’s youth summer volunteer and lunch opportunities,” said Youth Librarian Erin Tonnemacher.

Bobbie Coleman, director of Child Nutrition for LPOSD said, “In order to reach as many children in need as possible, meal distribution sites are located in areas that are 50% or greater low income. These sites are often public schools, community libraries or city parks, and are generally combined with learning and recreational activities.”

Debbie Love, executive director of the Bonner Community Food Bank, added: “Summer is a critical time for youths’ social and physical well-being. Having access to meals during the summer gives them the confidence of knowing when and from where their next meal is coming, which creates a food-secure community. 

“As our organizations unite, the idea of having the Summer Meals Program put on hold was not an option,” she added. “We are proud of our community and the collaboration that is happening to pull this together for our youth.”

“When there is a need in our community, the partnerships that exist between non-profits allow us to solve big community challenges,” said Katie Cox, executive director of Kaniksu Land Trust.

For information on volunteering or donating toward the program, contact Kaniksu Land Trust: [email protected] or 208-263-9471.