LYNN — The YMCA of Metro North is providing quality food to kids in Lynn this summer with the launch of their brand-new Y on the Fly Mobile Meal Van at the Demakes Family YMCA.
The summer mobile meals program began on July 14 and runs through September.
Led by the YMCA’s Senior Branch Executive Director Andrea Baez, in partnership with the Lynn Housing Authority, there are six different mobile meal sites Tuesday through Friday that provide enough meals to sustain through the weekend and serve as many families as possible.
Food will be distributed at the Demakes Family YMCA, 20 Neptune Blvd., for lunch at 12 to 12:45 p.m. and for dinner from 5 to 6 p.m.
Lunch will also be distributed at Curwin Circle from 11 to 11:45 a.m., and at the Saugus Family YMCA, 298 Main St., from 12 to 12:45 p.m.
Breakfast and lunch will be distributed at Neptune Towers, 130 Neptune Blvd., from 12:45 to 1:30 p.m.
Each mobile meal van trip stops for 45 minutes at each site where free meals and engaging activities for all youth ages 18 and under are offered.
With grant funding from statewide anti-hunger organization Project Bread, the YMCA will provide staffing support for the mobile meal program and the signature physical activities and educational programs that accompany this.
The YMCA of Metro North mobile meals program is part of Summer Eats, the Summer Food Service Program in Massachusetts, that assists families by providing free meals to children and teens to ensure they continue growing, learning and thriving over summer break.
Participating partners, including the YMCA of Metro North, operate and staff meal sites in conjunction with activities and educational programming. All are welcome and no registration or identification is required.
Baez said that even before the pandemic, the YMCA of Metro North was actively growing its food program to include more meal distribution to children in service areas.
“What we quickly learned from COVID-19 is that oftentimes the people who need the Y the most are not able to come to our facilities and we are determined to bring the Y to them,” said Baez. “Project Bread is instrumental in helping us achieve that goal. We want to provide meals to every child who needs it, whether they are at the Y or elsewhere.”
One in five children in the state are now experiencing food insecurity, a statistic that is nearly double the pre-pandemic numbers.
“All our kids here in Massachusetts should have the opportunity to play and grow throughout the summer free from worry about where their next meal will come from,” said Erin McAleer, chief executive officer at Project Bread. “Summer Eats Meal providers like the YMCA of Metro North understand the needs and challenges that exist in their community and they are dedicated to the kids and families they serve. Since the pandemic began, they’ve been working non-stop on the front lines because they know how important this resource is.”
For more than 20 years, youth in Massachusetts have had access to free meals in the summer through a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Project Bread.
This partnership supports community sponsors like the YMCA of Metro North in offering this resource and having the costs offset through federal meal reimbursement.
Project Bread and DESE also partner to expand access and participation for free and reduced-price school meals.
“When summer break arrives, school meals, a vital source of daily nutrition for these kids, goes away. Summer Eats has enough reach and scale to provide continuity to families, so that no child goes hungry,” McAleer says.
Last summer, more than 8.2 million meals were served through the program.
For more information about Summer Eats, including meal site locations, visit www.projectbread.org/get-help, text FOOD or COMIDA to 877-77, call 1-800-645-8333 for help in any language. You can also download the Summer Eats App for iPhone and Android.
