Summer Feeding Program 2014 in Toledo and Beyond

The great organization Feed Lucas County Children announced their summer feeding schedule in the Toledo area for 2014 this week.  This is part of a federal program that allows kids too poor to get food (who would be covered with the school lunch program from September through May) to get a nourishing meal. To find the nearest location near you, call 419 720 1106.

If you are not in the Toledo area, there's a toll-free hotline to find the summer feeding program provider near you: 1-866-3 - HUNGRY (348-6479) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (in Spanish).  Or use this website created by WhyHunger. 

Summer Feeding Programs in Toledo 2013 and Elsewhere

Feed Lucas County Children has announced the where and whens of its 2013 summer feeding program in Lucas County.   It's meant to be a summer stand-in for the school lunch program for low-income young people.  For more information or to find your nearest site, call 419-720-1106. 

Also, Toledo Public Schools will offer what the Toledo Blade called a "hodgepodge" of programs through the school district.  Many of their summer learning programs will include a free lunch.  It includes enrichment programs, high school programs to make up credit (not a free program), and other learning opportunities.  However, there will also be feeding programs for all children at East Broadway, Larchmont, Marshall, Sherman and Westfield Elementary Schools and Bowsher, Rogers, Scott, Start, Waite and Woodward High Schools.  For more information, call 211.

If you live outside Toledo, remember that the federal government funds summer feeding programs throughout the country, though the federal funding sequester is cutting in.  To find a program near you, call 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (for Spanish speakers), or check this interactive site. 

Summer Lunch Programs for 2012--in Toledo and Elsewhere

Feed Lucas County Children has busted out their list of summer lunch programs for kids in the Toledo area for 2012, many of which start this week.  If you are not in Toledo, but in other parts of Ohio, the list of summer feeding sites by county is here. 

But the program is available all over the country.  To find the nearest program to you, call the toll-free  National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (Spanish).

Finding Summer Food Programs for Kids

School lunch programs end when the school year does, but the need for food goes on into vacation. In response to this, there is a summer feeding program, which funds lunch, breakfast and snack programs for children around the country. In theory, everyone should have access to food through this, but practically speaking, some people have more access than others. The US Department of Agriculture funds a summer feeding program and states distribute the funds, but they need local sponsors and places that are willing to be feeding sites. So some places have lots of coverage, and some have few or no feeding places. How can you find them if you need to?


If you’re in Lucas County, Ohio (covering Toledo), it’s a snap: go the Feed Lucas County Children’s summer feeding website with the full schedule of locations and times. Outside of that in Ohio, it gets tougher: the Ohio Department of Education has a site that is searchable by county. Senator Sherrod Brown also has a list of summer feeding sponsors in Ohio, and you could contact them for times and places. If you live in other states, there are a couple of routes you could take to investigate feeding sites near you. One is to check the agency in your state that is responsible for the summer feeding program, and see if they have a list. Or you could call the Hunger Hotline at 1-866-348-6479 and see if they know of any sites near you. Another possibility is to avail yourself of a 211 information and referral program if you live in an area that is covered by one.