TOLEDO, Ohio — In light of the coronavirus pandemic and some schools learning remotely this year, Connecting Kids to Meals is still make sure kids have access to healthy meals.
'Since the day COVID-19 first hit our Greater Toledo community forcing the closure of our schools, Connecting Kids To Meals has stood in the gap to provide greater access to nutritious meals for kids at no cost," said Wendi Huntley, President of Connecting Kids to Meals. "We know that families were already struggling financially, and that hasn’t improved much now that we are six months removed from the on-set of this pandemic. Our goal is to supplement the hunger relief network in our community in every way possible.”
Connecting Kids to Meals is partnering with the Toledo Lucas County Public Library to host meals sites at nearly every library location Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
As some local school districts are distributing meals early in the day, Connecting Kids to Meals wants to make sure kids have another chance during the day to get a well-balanced meal in place of a meal they may have got at an after-school program that might not be operating right now.
Free meals will be available for kids at about 20 sites in the community. Parents, grandparents and caregivers can pick up meals for kids if the kids can't be there.
Connecting Kids To Meals is also partnering with Read for Literacy, so books along with activities will be made available for kids to take home from various meal sites.
“We understand that while children are not physically in school buildings, we need to support their at-home learning by making sure they have access to reading materials. Our goal is to build at home libraries for these students along with providing activity sheets to encourage literacy engagements in their homes” said Diana Bush, Executive Director of Read for Literacy, Inc.
Visit the Connecting Kids to Meals website or call 419-720-1106 for more information.
