Friday, Jul. 18, 2008

Filling the Void

Kids Eat Free Helps Summer Hunger

By John English

Contributing Writer

Throughout the school year, the Lewisville ISD free and reduced lunch program feeds hundreds of children daily. When summer rolls around, the Christian Community Action [CCA] Kids Eat Free program fills the need.

In a partnership with several local churches, the CCA provides lunches for more than 1,400 children every weekday during the months of June, July and August. "This is a program for children," Lakeland Baptist Church member Lana Bragg said. "I see it as two-fold. First, we want to provide food for children. All of my families are working families that work very hard – they just don’t make a lot of money, and it’s hard to make ends meet. The second part of this program is to give people from my church the opportunity to serve. For people who have a heart for children, this is it."

Bragg, who has volunteered with Kids Eat Free for the last 15 years, is part of a ministry that visits the Village West apartments in Lewisville every weekday to hand out lunches to children.

Last Wednesday, nutritious meals were provided for 120 young people.

CCA President and CEO Scott Orr said his organization came up with the concept for the Kids Eat Free program when it was made aware by parents that there was a need.

"Most of these kids are 'latchkey’ kids," Orr said. "Parents were telling their caseworkers 'we’re at work during the day, the kids are at home, and they really don’t have lunch.’ The kids were having to fend for themselves. ... I don’t think it had really occurred to anyone that free and reduced lunch is only eight months out of the year at that point, so that is how the idea really came about."

CCA Food and Seasonal Programs Director Maureen Cummings said Kids Eat Free has been in existence for the last 20 years, but has grown tremendously from 2007 to 2008

"Last year, we were serving about 900 children per day," Cummings said. "We are at over 500 more than that now. ... It had inched up a little in recent years, but nothing like this last year."

CCA provides most of the lunch food to the various churches involved in the Kids Eat Free program, which in turn distribute them at various sites throughout the area, most of which are apartment complexes.

"I think what I like about the program is that these kids feel that sense of community," CCA Marketing and Development Vice President Kathie Gautille said. "They realize that there are people who care about them and that are out there every day."

A total of 24 churches are involved in the Kids Eat Free program and there are 17 sites where lunches are distributed.

Gautille said that by the end of the summer, Kids Eat Free will have provided 77,000 lunches for needy children.

In addition to the Kids Eat Free program, the food pantry at CCA provides food for 800 families a week. Gautille said the summer months are a time when food is most in need.

Orr said the CCA depends on food drives, and personal donations from the public. He added that the bulk of CCA’s food is purchased from the North Texas Food Bank.

"We can actually get food there for 14 cents per pound there, which is amazing" Orr said. "There are times when someone will say they want to bring us a case of peanut butter, for instance. Now, we are grateful for any kind of donation, but we want to say, 'well, if you haven’t bought it yet, bring us the money, and we can buy three cases of peanut butter.’"

Gautille said CCA can provide food for a family of four for $25 for an entire week through the North Texas Food Bank.

"We can really stretch it," Gautille said. "But we are thankful for whatever we get, because it brings variety into the food pantry."

Orr said the CCA is can always use such items as diapers, cooking oil, sugar, cereal and flour, because they are not always available at the food bank.

Contact Kathie Gautille at 972-219-4315 to make a donation to Christian Community Action.