Gleaner’s Summer Free Hunger Program Nears 2 Million Meal Goal

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DETROIT — Gleaners’ annual Hunger Free Summer campaign has provided nearly 1.5 million meals to hungry children this summer. Gleaners is over halfway to reaching the campaign goal of providing 2 million meals to children in southeast Michigan during the summer months.

In addition to the underwriting support from the Charter One Foundation, donations are being matched dollar-for-dollar by 13 corporate and community partners. Every $1 donated provides six meals to hungry kids.

This year the Hunger Free Summer campaign has shown growth in two areas: mobile lunch delivery, and breakfasts offered at stationary program sites.

Mobile lunch outreach is making a significant impact by increasing the number of children receiving summer meals, adding routes in the Belleville and Inkster communities, and demonstrating a cost savings to Gleaners.

Children receiving breakfast at the program’s stationary summer feeding sites have increased by over 50 percent.

A pilot program last summer, the mobile lunch routes delivering nutritious meals directly to children in their neighborhoods, has proven to be a winning program.

“We’ve been able to reach children in high-need neighborhoods, where many of the kids don’t participate in stationary-site summer programs,” says  Gerry Brisson, Gleaners’ president. “The kids run to the trucks when they hear them coming.

The risk of children going hungry intensifies during the summer when programs like the National School Lunch Program are not available. The Hunger Free Summer campaign helps feed the more than 300,000 children in southeast Michigan who receive free or reduced-fee meals during the school year.

Now through September 1, donations can be made at hungerfreesummer.org or 855-315-3663