By Auggie Brown
Glasgow News 1
Barren County Reads and Feeds held its weekly summer food giveaway today, distributing seven-day meal kits to families at multiple locations across Barren County. Program organizers say the effort is designed to help bridge the meal gap for children who rely on school meals during the academic year. An estimated one in four children in Barren County are food insecure, according to Barren County Director of Nutrition Services Cheyanne Fant.
Many local children have their final meal of the day at school, which makes summer months especially challenging for families. Fant says the Reads and Feeds program has been providing summer meals and books to children for about 12 years. This year, about 4,200 students have signed up to receive food. Organizers expect the program to provide roughly 500,000 meals from the beginning of June through the end of July.
Food pickups take place every Wednesday during the summer at various locations. Meals are available from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Austin Tracy Elementary, Hiseville Elementary, Park City Elementary and Temple Hill Elementary. Meals are also available from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Eastern Elementary, North Jackson Elementary and Barren County Middle School, giving families morning and afternoon options.
To keep the operation moving, officials say approximately 75 to 80 people are hired part time to help during the giveaways. Many of those workers are high school students who use the program as a summer job while also supporting their peers. When there is no pickup, staff members spend their time packing freezer food bags, dry storage bags, refrigerated bags and local produce bags to prepare for the next distribution.
In addition to meals, Barren County Reads and Feeds delivers books to children. Organizers say that around 60% of kids living in poverty have no books at home, so the reading component is meant to support literacy along with nutrition.
Because of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, there will be no food giveaway next Wednesday. To help cover the gap, families received an extra bag of food in this week’s distribution. Supporters say the community has raised between $30,000 and $50,000 to purchase food and supplies needed for the program. The Walk a Mile in Their Shoes fundraiser helped secure extra food so children will not go hungry over the holiday period.
Key Facts
– Barren County Reads and Feeds held its weekly food giveaway today
– Seven-day meal kits were distributed at multiple sites across Barren County
– About 4,200 students are signed up for the summer program
– Officials expect to provide roughly 500,000 meals from June through July
– One in four children in Barren County is food insecure
– Many children reportedly eat their final meal of the day at school
– Reads and Feeds also delivers books to children during the summer
– Around 60% of kids in poverty are believed to have no books at home
– An extra bag of food was given this week for the July Fourth holiday
– There will be no food giveaway next week because of the holiday
– Community members reportedly raised $30,000 to $50,000 to support the effort
– About 75 to 80 part-time workers, including many high school students, help run the program
A worker delivers food during the summer Reads and Feeds food giveaway. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
A worker delivers food during the summer Reads and Feeds food giveaway. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
Workers run bags of food out to the car line during the summer Reads and Feeds food giveaway at Barren County Middle School. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
A worker delivers milk during the summer Reads and Feeds food giveaway. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
A worker delivers food during the summer Reads and Feeds food giveaway. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
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