No More Pencils, No More Books...
That’s what the end of the school year means to kids – but if your family depends on free school lunches, it also means an end to those meals for several months.
At Open Table we know summer vacation has a big impact on the food needs of many families. In response, we offer our Fuel Up for Summer program to help fill the summer meal gap. We prepare kid-friendly meals and make them available through all of our pantry programs. Working with community groups and engaged volunteers, we create Kids Bags that contain snacks and quick meals in beautifully decorated bags for our youngest guests.
Your donation now will help with all of these programs and more. You can help feed local kids this summer!
The recent Greater Boston Food Bank’s Opportunities to Improve Food Equity and Access in Massachusetts: Ending Hunger – Together study discovered that 1 in 3 Massachusetts households continue to struggle with food insecurity in 2022. Furthermore, it found that 36 percent of Massachusetts households experienced child-level food insecurity, meaning a child was hungry, skipped a meal, or did not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough money for food, surpassing the overall statewide household food insecurity average. These numbers grow in minority communities with over half of Hispanic (53 percent) and LGBTQ+ (57 percent) households and 42 percent of Black households.
Hoops Challenge
Our staff is ready to step-in with some friendly competition towards this effort. Rob and Jessica are going to face off in our Hoops Challenge to help raise funds. Every donation we receive, means another basket they have to sink! Who will win in the Hoops battle between Operations Manager and Grants Manager? Your donations determine their target on June 9th!
Help Kids Thrive
According to Project Bread, Massachusetts food insecurity “rates have been fluctuating between 19% to 22%, and as of early March 2023, an estimated 22.2% of households with children are facing food insecurity.” That’s about one in 5 kids. Out on the playground or at school you can’t tell – they’re all just kids. But at home, their parents may be behind on rent, working two or three jobs, or skipping meals themselves to make sure their children eat.
You can help these families. Your donation provides local kids with the nourishing food they need to thrive.
Increased Need
Grocery prices are up, rent and energy costs are rising, all while some emergency benefits are ending. So far in our fiscal year, 87% of new households coming to Open Table have children 17 and under. That’s a 34% increase compared to FY22. Overall the number of individuals and families seeking assistances is up 22%, and 29% of the people we serve are children under 18 years of age.
No child should spend their summer break stressed about where their next meal will come from. Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of families struggling with food insecurity? Join us today and let’s fight hunger together, one family at a time!
