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Springfield Public Schools began their Summer Eats free lunch on Thursday, providing meals to students in order to alleviate food insecurity within Western Massachusetts.
Home Grown Springfield, the district's meal distributor, will be traveling to multiple parks and schools across the city on weekdays this summer. They will be offering free meals for all children under the age of 18 with no identification or sign up required.
"I feel and we feel at Home Grown Springfield that it's our responsibility to make sure that our students are being well fed," said Carly Dunn, of Home Grown Springfield. "So even though schools are out, summer meals are always in with us. And we think that it's extremely important for us to feed our own community members."
Dunn says the Springfield summer lunch program has expanded over the years and now serves upwards of 7,000 meals per day.
She also cited other efforts in Western Massachusetts, with cities like Chicopee and Greenfield, conducting their own summer free lunch programs.
Azell Cavaan, spokesperson for the district, said there is need all year round, but especially in the summer and during the holidays.
"Around Thanksgiving, for example, there are backpacks of food that are given out for families who will need help putting a Thanksgiving meal on the table. And even when we have extended vacations, there will be backpacks that go home with students whose family expressed a need for that... you're talking about meals for a week," she said. "Now we're talking about the whole summer. So we know that there is a great need for this."
More information on times and locations can be found at homegrownspringfield.org
NEPM's Elizabeth Román contributed to this report.
