SUMMER LUNCH BOX

“When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink”

Fifty percent of the children in the City of Cumberland are eligible to receive free or reduced breakfasts and lunches at their school during the academic year. That is a staggering number. It also means that when the school year ends, their vital source of nutrition is cut off.

Summer Lunch Box was founded in 2001 by Becky Millar who spent her career in education. She became aware that there were a lot of children who were not getting substantial meals at home and were coming to school after holidays and summer breaks hungry.

What started as an outreach effort of Emmanuel grew into its own as a separate non-profit that is now broadly supported by others in the community as well. There are now 3 different churches that prepare the lunches and six different distribution sites.

Volunteers gather 4 days a week for 8 weeks out of the summer months to prepare a nutritionally balanced brown bag lunch which includes: juice, sandwich, fresh fruit, fresh vegetable, dessert, and a several snacks plus utensils. Lunches are then delivered to the children at the sites located throughout the City of Cumberland by volunteer drivers.

Our volunteers are a wonderfully diverse group of folks from throughout the community. We have a stable of retirees who have volunteered with us for years, we have professionals who take a lunch break to drive and deliver lunches and high school students looking for summer volunteer opportunities.

We offer lunches to everyone who applies, we do not discriminate. All are welcome at our table. Although many churches are involved, there is no proselytizing allowed.

Our last season we prepared slightly over 16, 000 lunches during the eight-week period, and it takes a lot of volunteers to accomplish this. We do not receive government funding; we rely solely on private donations, and the generosity of people’s time which is mostly 2 to 3 hours a day.