Alameda County Community Food Bank

Press Releases:

Contact: Allison Pratt
(510) 635-3663 x 338
apratt@accfb.org

Food Bank Raises Awareness of Federal Free Summer Lunch Program
—Summer Lunch Fun Day Scheduled for July 30—

24 July 2008 -- (Oakland, CA) Amidst rising food prices, the Alameda County Community Food Bank is struggling to meet the demand for its services and is co-hosting a Summer Lunch Fun Day on Wednesday, July 30, 12 noon – 1 pm at Columbian Gardens in Oakland. (9854 Koford Road) Requests for emergency food on the Food Bank’s Food Helpline has increased by 63 percent over the past two years and the Food Bank is steering callers to places in their neighborhoods where they may obtain a free meal or bag of groceries, and to summer lunch sites that provide a free lunch to children and teenagers under the age of 18.

Over 130 summer lunch sites at schools and community organizations are located throughout Alameda County, where children who show up will be served a nutritious and delicious lunch. No registration or paperwork is required. To find a nearby site, call the Alameda County Community Food Bank’s toll-free Food Helpline, 800-870-FOOD (3663), enter your zip code to be directed to a summer lunch site in your area. Additional information and a list of Bay Area-wide sites are also available at www.summerlunch.org.

The Summer Lunch Fun Day on July 30 is open to the public; children 18 and under can win t-shirts, Frisbees, bracelets, nerf footballs and other giveaways as well as learn more about the summer lunch program. Food Bank staff will also be available to assist families apply for food stamps.

"Summer should be the happiest months for children and hunger is the last thing they should have to worry about," states Allison Pratt, Director of Policy and Services at the Food Bank. "Unfortunately, summer lunch attendance is low because many families are unaware of the program."

Last year, the Summer Lunch program served 12,000 Alameda County children – only 15 percent of those who are eligible to participate in the federal school meal programs. In Alameda County, 80,000 children are eligible to receive free and reduced-price meals during the school year. Summer is a challenging time for families who rely on school meals to help feed their families.

Outreach efforts for this year’s Summer Lunch program are spearheaded by the Alameda County Community Food Bank, City of Oakland, Oakland Unified School District and the offices of Senator Don Perata and Assemblymember Sandré Swanson.