3 days ago
St. Helena Island community hub provides free summer meals for kids
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV) — Folks on St. Helena Island say that kids in the area sometimes rely on school lunches to fill their bellies. With school now out, the Community Cultural Resilience Hub is making sure those kids continue to eat by offering free meals throughout the entire summer.
According to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDOE), when schools let out, many children are at risk of going hungry. That's why they created the Summer Break Cafe program in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture. The community hub on St. Helena Island is using it to hand out free meals this summer.
'We're feeding 50 children. By the end of the summer, we will have distributed 3000 meals,' said Jindia Blount, the organizer of the Summer Break Café at the community hub location. 'Nationwide, you know, there's hunger. But I do feel as though there is a specific need here in the community.'
The program's goal is to provide a nutritious breakfast and lunch for 7 days a week to kids in low-income areas, keeping them growing and healthy until the next school year comes around.
The SCDOE says site locations operate in areas where at least 50 percent of children residing there are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals.
'I do have a lot of grands and just to pick up something so they'll have something to eat on, even though they do have something, this will help me as far as buying more food,' said Henrietta Jefferson, a grandmother and resident of St. Helena Island.
Blount said they fill the bag with 2 days' worth of food, making sure kids stay full, and their parents or grandparents can take a little stress off their plate.
'Just because the kids are out of school for the summer, it doesn't mean that life stops,' said Blount.
Jefferson added, 'You know, sometimes you just don't feel like cooking or you probably just don't have that to cook. But if you can come to a community or come to a center where they can give it to you, you know, it really makes your day.'
Food pick-up is Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting at 10 a.m.
'On Monday, they'll get food for Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, they get for Wednesday and Thursday and then on Fridays they pick up enough food to last Friday, Saturday and Sunday,' Blount said.
Blount said the hardest part is getting the word out on the island. They're currently giving out around 50 meals every other day, but they have the capability and want to do even more. She said the hope is for more people to take advantage of the free opportunity.
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