Food bank fighting summer hunger

No child in West Texas should go hungry this summer as the West Texas Food Bank launches a program to make sure they don’t.

No sign up is needed for children under 18 for the 2018 Summer Food Service Program to help feed children throughout the region.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) ensures that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session. This summer, USDA plans to serve more than 200 million free meals to children 18 years and under at approved SFSP sites.

The West Texas Food Bank is partnering with 13 sites and is preparing to serve more than 800 meals a day. All sites will be open to school aged kids 18 and under.

The West Texas Food Bank is also partnering with several volunteer groups to help serve the meals. Connection Christian Church of Odessa is returning for the third year to help out.

“A basic building block for a healthy community is having children who are fed, and a foundational tenet of our faith is to care for children,” The Rev. Dawn Weaks, Connection Christian Church of Odessa co-pastor, said.

She said the partnership with the West Texas Food Bank “blesses us with the opportunity to live out our faith and be part of building a healthy community. We thank God for the opportunity!”

The West Texas Food Bank is also partnering with the Museum of the Southwest in Midland as a site for kids to come eat, and enjoy what the museum has to offer. The Ellen Noel Art Museum in Odessa will be providing art activities for children at the La Promesa and 3rd Edition complexes.

Libby Campbell, executive director of the West Texas Food Bank said summer is the busiest time of year for the Food Bank. “We are looking forward to reaching the kiddos who are not getting two meals a day from school. The addition of fun activities for the kids is just a bonus! I am very thankful for the two museums for helping and I am especially grateful to all the volunteers who help us get 800 kids a day nutritious meals.”