Americans Helping Americans® is preparing now for the summer months, when thousands of children in Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia will lose access to the school meals they rely on during the academic year.
Last year, Americans Helping Americans® partnered with Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies (AMOS) in Jefferson City, Tennessee, the Labor of Love Mission (LOLM) in Tazewell, Virginia, and LAMP Ministries in Gainesville, Georgia, to help address food insecurity among children and families during the summer months.
Thanks to supporters of Americans Helping Americans®, these local partners were able to operate mobile feeding and food distribution programs that brought meals and groceries directly into vulnerable communities.
“Through their efforts, a total of 2,249 meals were distributed, ensuring children had reliable access to nourishment during the summer months when school meals are unavailable,” reported Americans Helping Americans® Executive Director Cameron Krizek.
Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies: Standing in the Gap for Children
In Jefferson City, Tennessee, AMOS Executive Director Jean-Ann Washam said the summer feeding program came together at just the right time.
Around the same time, Americans Helping Americans® proposed partnering with AMOS for a summer feeding program, First Baptist Church Jefferson City contacted AMOS looking for a service project in the community.
The result was a weekly food distribution program serving about 100 children each week in two low-income housing communities and at an elementary school.
“Having the same group of volunteers at the sites each week allowed them to build relationships with the families,” Jean-Ann reported.
For this summer, AMOS has been awarded a $15,000 grant from Americans Helping Americans® to expand the program. The funding will help purchase a van to deliver food to distribution areas, along with magnets listing the days, times, and food items available to children and families.
“AMOS will take groceries to Hillview housing units, Cherokee housing units, and Jefferson City Elementary School every Friday during the months of June and July,” Jean-Ann stated in her grant request.
She expects the program to serve 100 children from 50 households each week for eight weeks, beginning Friday, June 5, and continuing through Friday, July 31.
“Our goal is to address food insecurity for youth during the months of June and July,” she added. “AMOS is standing in the gap for these children.”
Labor of Love Mission: Reaching Rural Families in Virginia and West Virginia
In rural Tazewell, Virginia, LOLM Director René Steele and her “army of volunteers” distributed 1,557 snack boxes last year throughout Tazewell County, as well as neighboring McDowell County, West Virginia.
René explained that LOLM had started a summer feeding program in 2019, but eventually could not continue it due to limited funding.
“Participation was high, over 285–310 a week, but the funding was not,” she told us.
With support from Americans Helping Americans®, LOLM resumed the program last year in three areas of Tazewell County — Pocahontas, Tazewell, and Raven — and one location in McDowell County, distributing 50 boxes at each site.
This year, with $10,960.43 in grant funding from Americans Helping Americans®, René expects the program to run from June 9 through August 6, distributing 200 boxes each week and serving up to 1,600 children from as many as 400 households.
“The students love these boxes,” she commented.
Supporting Summer Feeding Programs in Georgia
Americans Helping Americans® is also expanding summer feeding support in Georgia this year through partnerships with both LAMP Ministries in Gainesville and American Veterans Post 9-1-1, Inc. (AmVets).
LAMP Ministries received support last year for its summer feeding efforts and will receive a $5,000 grant this year to continue helping children and families facing food insecurity during the summer months.
LAMP Executive Director Mary Mauricio explained that the need in the community continues to grow.
“Year-round, we receive requests for food, but with inflation and repercussions of COVID, our numbers have more than doubled,” she shared in the organization’s grant request. “The biggest need in the community is families being displaced.”
This summer, LAMP expects to serve between 148 and 160 children from up to 40 households.
“Since it’s summer, there are no meals at school, which sometimes is the only hot meal children get,” Mary added. “Also, the cost of groceries has gone up so much it is difficult for families to make ends meet.”
Americans Helping Americans® has also awarded a $10,000 grant to AmVets for its Meals on Wheels Summer Feeding Program.
The program is designed to provide healthy breakfast and lunch meals to vulnerable households during the summer months, including low-income families, veterans, seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities.
Many families in the community struggle to travel to free feeding sites due to transportation barriers and rising costs. Through mobile meal delivery and community distribution sites, the program aims to ensure children and families continue receiving nutritious meals throughout the summer.
The Meals on Wheels Summer Feeding Program is expected to operate five days per week from June 1 through August 1 and provide approximately 8,800 meals during the summer season.
“We believe that a hungry child cannot play, grow, or learn,” said Post Commander Ronnie Ogletree. “Together, we can ensure that summer remains a time of joy, not hunger, for our community’s youth.”
