Recently, Feeding America West Michigan welcomed librarians from the greater Grand Rapids area to prepare for a new season of Gather 2 Grow.
Gather 2 Grow partners with libraries to offer free, shelf-stable lunches for children, teens and disabled young adults throughout the summer. Now in its fourth year, Gather 2 Grow will offer 10 meal options at 55 sites in 20 counties. The program has expanded to new sites in northwest Michigan, the Upper Peninsula and even Drummond Island. The program is also growing from 10 weeks of meals to 13.
Caleb Perkins, Community Engagement Librarian with Kent District Library, said the meals were appreciated and well-received at the Tyrone Township Branch in Kent City last year. This year, he will offer meals on KDL Book Mobile, which will stop at locations throughout Kent County.
“We’re picking apartment complexes or trailer parks where we know there is a need, so we can bring the meals directly to them,” he said.
Nourishing minds and bodies
The Alvah N. Belding Memorial Library in Belding is a new Gather 2 Grow location this year. Youth Services Coordinator Barbara Root signed on for Gather 2 Grow because she is concerned about children and youth who are home alone while their parents work in the summer. The library gives them a safe place to go where they can read books, get a nutritious meal, and participate in planned activities at the library.
Root said she is drawn to the kids who might not have much adult supervision while school is out of session. It’s important for her to know that they are fed, and she likes how the library and Gather 2 Grow work together to feed growing minds and bodies.
“It’s exciting because it feeds kids and gets them into the library. The program makes community connections that make sense,” she said.
To learn more about our Gather 2 Grow program and to see participating libraries, their location, and updated schedule, visit our Gather 2 Grow schedule page. You can also read more about the state of childhood hunger in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula—and how you can help kids in those communities today.