Bedford’s New Summer Eats Program Offers Free Food and Family Fun

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) – New Bedford Public Schools and New Bedford recreational and beach parks are offering great food and fun for the family at approximately 30 food and beverage sites across the city this summer.

Summer Eats, a statewide loose meal program, offers loose food to any child or youth 18 years of age or younger.

Last summer, the organization served more than 145,000 meals in the community. As of last July, more than 2. 1 million meals were served at more than 1,400 locations in Massachusetts where the program participates.

This year, the restoration sites are from Friday, June 21 to Friday, August 23.

Every day of the week, the New Bedford Parks Recreation Center

This summer, the branch is their recreational and break van to bring lunches to two sites daily, five days a week, adding two days at the PACE Food Pantry.

In addition, it will partner with the Fairhaven Parks and Recreation Department to create a new open space at Livesey Park in Fairhaven.

Summer Eats helps families by providing loose food to children and teens to make sure they continue to grow, learn, and thrive during the summer holidays.

Simply by reducing the monetary burden some families might face over the summer, Summer Eats has made a significant impact on the community.

“Last week, a mother of two called Project Bread and worried about how she would feed her children after school. She is not alone. In the summer, many families are forced to further increase their depleted grocery budgets. Summer Eats is a very vital program because it’s helping to bridge that gap,” said Erin McAleer, president and CEO of Project Bread.

New Bedford Public Schools will supply bulk food to all youth and teens at thirteen schools and the Fort Taber playground. Ten schools will offer breakfast and lunch, and four sites will serve lunch.

Activities at the venues will include lawn games, arts and crafts, handicap courses, sports, raffles and more.

Participating meal providers operate and hire staff at the meal sites, while also offering educational activities and programs. This year, it’s now imaginable to feed the youth on site, and everyone is welcome, with no need to register or identify themselves.

Summer Eats can also be received with Summer EBT, which provides an additional investment to purchase food while they are not in school.

For more than 20 years, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Project Bread, a statewide food protection nonprofit, have partnered for meal providers to bring Summer Eats foods to Massachusetts youth.

Throughout the school year, the nonprofit and DESE also partnered to expand and participate in school catering programs. This year, Project Bread awarded $226,000 to 51 Summer Eats sponsors for program awareness and capacity building.

Gallery Credit: Barry Richard

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

Through New Bedford’s Summer Eats Program, teenagers and kids can have free meals and activities this summer.n

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NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) – New Bedford Public Schools and New Bedford recreational and beach parks are offering great food and fun for the family at approximately 30 food and beverage sites across the city this summer.

Summer Eats, a statewide loose meal program, offers loose food to any child or youth 18 years of age or younger.

Last summer, the organization served more than 145,000 meals in the community. As of last July, more than 2. 1 million meals were served at more than 1,400 locations in Massachusetts where the program participates.

This year, the restoration sites are from Friday, June 21 to Friday, August 23.

Every day of the week, the New Bedford Parks Recreation Center

This summer, the branch is their recreational and break van to bring lunches to two sites daily, five days a week, adding two days at the PACE Food Pantry.

In addition, it will partner with the Fairhaven Parks and Recreation Department to create a new open space at Livesey Park in Fairhaven.

Summer Eats helps families by providing loose food to children and teens to make sure they continue to grow, learn, and thrive during the summer holidays.

Simply by reducing the monetary burden some families might face over the summer, Summer Eats has made a significant impact on the community.

“Last week, a mother of two called Project Bread and worried about how she would feed her children after school. She is not alone. In the summer, many families are forced to further increase their depleted grocery budgets. Summer Eats is a very vital program because it’s helping to bridge that gap,” said Erin McAleer, president and CEO of Project Bread.

New Bedford Public Schools will supply bulk food to all youth and teens at thirteen schools and the Fort Taber playground. Ten schools will offer breakfast and lunch, and four sites will serve lunch.

Activities at the venues will include lawn games, arts and crafts, handicap courses, sports, raffles and more.

Participating meal providers operate and hire staff at the meal sites, while also offering educational activities and programs. This year, it’s now imaginable to feed the youth on site, and everyone is welcome, with no need to register or identify themselves.

Summer Eats can also be received with Summer EBT, which provides an additional investment to purchase food while they are not in school.

For more than 20 years, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Project Bread, a statewide food protection nonprofit, have partnered for meal providers to bring Summer Eats foods to Massachusetts youth.

Throughout the school year, the nonprofit and DESE also partnered to expand and participate in school catering programs. This year, Project Bread awarded $226,000 to 51 Summer Eats sponsors for program awareness and capacity building.

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