Our Summer Meals program was a huge success this year!
In 2024, we served free lunch once a week as a pilot program. This year, with the help of the United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon (UMCMV) and First Presbyterian Church of Mount Vernon, we were able to expand the program to serve free meals every weekday throughout the summer. Meals were provided three days a week at SELCC and twice a week at the churches in Mount Vernon.
All meals were prepared in SELCC’s commercial kitchen by staff and volunteers. Meals were open to all, including kids who were home alone and rode their bikes to lunch, kids who came with their babysitters, and grandparents who brought their grandkids. We also served several families throughout the summer who were struggling to balance working from home with caring for their children.
We served 2,666 meals total, averaging 49 attendees per day. Leftovers were packaged and distributed to community members through our food pantry, leaving us with zero food waste.
In addition to enjoying meals together with neighbors, people were encouraged to select and take home fresh produce provided by SELCC’s community gardens and local growers. At the end of each week, we also gave out weekend snack bags to each child. Five hundred eighty-one snack bags were distributed throughout the summer.
Children had the chance to socialize and to stay for free enrichment activities some afternoons, freeing up their parents’ or grandparents’ time for work responsibilities. The energy was amazing!
This program was truly a collaborative effort. In the spring, our Activities Coordinator worked with the local school cafeteria staff to plan meals based on the students’ favorites. We met with UMCMV and First Presbyterian Church leaders to plan scheduling, volunteer recruitment, and publicity.
More than 110 volunteers assisted with meals throughout the summer, providing over 800 hours of service. Church volunteers helped with cooking, transporting food, serving meals, cleaning up, and packing leftovers.
Thanks so much to Gary’s Foods for doing a “register round-up,” and to all the shoppers who contributed! Funding was also provided by a private donor and a grant from the Linn County Fund at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.
We are excited to continue our Summer Meals program next year!