“I’m sure glad you decided to come! Are you gonna be here every day? Can you bring your brother?”
I recently overheard this exchange between two teens who were grabbing lunch at FISH’s new pilot lunch program in Ladoga.
Families are experiencing serious difficulties because of cutbacks to food assistance programs. Children who qualify for free or reduced lunch during the school year are hungry during the summer vacation too. Parents and caregivers scramble to keep food on the table. The SUN Bucks program has been canceled. Summer lunch programs are evaporating, and SNAP benefits have decreased significantly.
The Pantry’s pilot program addresses this issue of summer hunger. Unlike Crawfordsville, our rural communities have no children’s summer lunch programs through their schools. Here’s how the program works:
FISH supplies only part of the food. The Ladoga Community Fund, Emporium 109 and the Whitesville Christian Church have rallied to make up the difference. Both the KP’s of the 80’s Extension Club and the Ladoga Lion’s Club also assist. Additionally, Whitesville Christian Church opens its kitchen, making it easy for volunteers to prepare and package healthy lunches. Volunteers from Farm Credit Services, Hoosier Heartland State Bank and others have helped to deliver noontime meals to the Ladoga city park or to the library. Kids from the entire Ladoga area arrive on foot, by bicycle and in cars to enjoy a nutritious meal — and maybe check out a library book while they’re at it. Grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and walking tacos have all been big hits with the kids this month. Lunch is available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. As the word gets out around the community, the number of participants is increasing.
In the future, FISH hopes to partner with other small towns in Montgomery County as they establish their own summer lunch programs. The Pantry can help with the basics, give moral support and offer advice. Then, FISH will step away as each community develops its own plan to fill summer nutritional gaps for its children. And the human connections made while preparing and sharing a meal fill the need for social connections, as well. That’s a win for everyone involved.
Pantry food allocated to the Ladoga program comes from many sources. We count on the largess of others to keep the shelves stocked and the freezers full. Recently, contributions to our local Arby’s “Attitude Equals Success” Foundation program resulted in a very generous cash donation. Kroger and the Crawfordsville Police Department worked together on the recent Fill the Cruiser Food Drive, collecting both food and cash from Kroger shoppers. Individuals, churches, businesses and others continue to both drop off donations and mail their checks to P O Box 261, Crawfordsville IN 47933. It’s amazing how far those dollars can be stretched.
Is that extra row of produce in your garden starting to ripen? Call 765-362-FISH to arrange for a fresh veggie delivery. Grandkids bored? How about setting up a Fourth of July lemonade stand to raise money for FISH? What a great way to learn firsthand about generosity and empathy. Only a few weeks ago an unnamed gentleman stopped at the Pantry to drop off two twenty-dollar bills, his “God money” for the month.
Every donation received helps FISH assist our hungry neighbors. We’re so grateful for our community’s generosity. Thank you.
Elaine Chase is co-president of FISH. She contributes a monthly column to the Journal Review.
