Americans Helping Americans® is gearing up now to prepare for the summer when thousands of children in Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia will not be receiving the meals that they do when school is in session.
Last year, Americans Helping Americans® teamed up with two of our partners, Appalachian Ministries of the Smokies (AMOS) in Jefferson City, TN, and the Labor of Love Mission (LOLM) in Tazewell, VA, to address food insecurity among children and families during the summer months.
Thanks to the supporters of Americans Helping Americans®, AMOS and LOLM each received $10,000 grants to operate the mobile feeding programs using vans and buses to reach 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.
Tennessee: Reaching Children Through the Summer Feeding Program in Jefferson City
AMOS executive director Jean-Ann Washam noted that around the same time that Cameron had proposed partnering with them for the summer feeding program, she was contacted by the First Baptist Church Jefferson City looking for a service project to do in the community.
The result was a weekly food distribution program operated primarily by volunteers for youth, taking place in two low-income housing communities and an elementary school, serving about 100 children each week.
"Having the same group of volunteers at the sites each week allowed them to build relationships with the families," Jean-Ann reported.
"Without your support, we would not have these items to give out to our families."
For this summer, Jean-Ann reported that AMOS' grant of $15,000 will be used to purchase a van to deliver the food to the areas of distribution, magnets to be placed on the van listing the days, times of distribution, and food items that will be given to the children.
"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," stated Jean-Ann in her grant request.
She expects that the program will serve 100 children from 50 households served weekly for eight weeks beginning on Friday, June 5, and running 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."
Virginia: Feeding Families in Rural Tazewell County
In rural Tazewell, Cameron reported that LOLM director René Steele and her "army of volunteers" distributed 1,557 snack boxes last year in the county, as well as neighboring McDowell County, West Virginia.
In LOLM's grant application for this summer, René explained that they had started a summer feeding program once a week in 2019, but could not continue.
"Participation was high, over 285-310 a week, but the funding was not," she told us.
But thanks to the supporters of Americans Helping Americans®, LOLM was able to resume it last year at three areas in Tazewell County – Pocahontas, Tazewell, and Raven – and one in McDowell County, with 50 boxes at each location.
This year, with grant funding in the amount of $10,960.43, she expects the program to run from June 9 to Aug. 6, continuing to distribute 200 boxes each week and serving a total of 1,600 children from up to 400 households this summer.
"The students love these boxes," she commented.
Georgia: LAMP Ministries Addresses Food Insecurity This Summer
And in Gainesville, GA, our partner, LAMP Ministries, also participated in the Americans Helping Americans® summer feeding program.
LAMP executive director Mary Mauricio told us in her grant application that "Year-round, we receive requests for food, but with inflation and repercussions of COVID, our numbers have more than doubled. The biggest need in the community is families being displaced.
This summer she expects to serve between 148 and 160 children from up to 40 households with $5,000 in grant funding from Americans Helping Americans®.
"Since it's summer, there are no meals at school, which sometimes is the only hot meal children get.
"Also, the cost of groceries has gone up so much it is difficult for families to make ends meet."
