Libraries are a resource for their communities in so many ways, and the librarians of White Cloud Community Library are underscoring this fact every time they set up to hand out free lunches to children through the Gather 2 Grow program. The Gather 2 Grow program runs from June 2 to August 29 and, at White Cloud Community Library in particular, occurs every Monday through Friday from 12PM to 1PM. At that time, children are offered choices from a variety of lunches, including nut-free, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. These meals, available to kids 18 and under and developmentally delayed adults up to age 26, are handed out free-of-cost. The children are then allowed to eat them at the library, in a dedicated space set aside for this purpose, or they can take them on the go.
The librarians who work the Gather 2 Grow program at White Cloud are not only doing their best to fight food insecurity for children in the summer, but they’re also making it an even more enjoyable experience in their own wonderful way.
“We don’t do the same thing every day,” Circulation Desk Librarian Lindsay Rosso explained. “We just pick it [the meal options] out the day before. They like that we’re doing different choices every day. They love to come up and pick and figure out which one they want. The parents love it too, because then they don’t have to worry about what they’re gonna feed their kids and it’s something that the kids want to eat, too.”
When asked what foods the kids seemed most responsive to, Lindsay pointed to a few items.
“They love the juice boxes. The barbecue chicken bites are good too,” she said, also stating that her son in particular is a fan of the juice boxes and beef sticks.
If there’s a chance of something being present in the lunches that some kids might not like, there’s always the share basket. Instead of the possibility of that item being thrown away, the share basket implemented at White Cloud offers everyone the chance to choose a snack from what others may not want.
In addition to switching up what the kids can choose from each day, the librarians worked together to create flyers the kids can take home. Each flyer explains the program and has images of what each lunch contains, so that kids can learn more about their options before they pick. They’ve laminated those same images and have them on-hand as visuals for parents and kids who stop by.
It’s little touches like these that continue to emphasize just how much libraries care for the communities they serve.
A helping hand for Newaygo County families
A little over a month into the second year of hosting the program at White Cloud Community Library, Lindsay notes the increase in those who make use of the resource. She notes that on a recent day, 75 lunches were given out during the hour and that they’ve already seen a lot more people coming in than the previous year.
1 out of 5 children in Newaygo County is food insecure, with a total of roughly 2,130 food insecure children in a population of 50,414 individuals. Because of the efforts of the White Cloud Community Library librarians and the accessibility of programs like Gather 2 Grow, kids have meals when they’re not at school and parents and guardians can more easily keep them fed. By adapting the Gather 2 Grow program at their library, librarians are doing what they can to ease food insecurity in their community.
When grantors like the Fremont Area Community Foundation provide funds for programs like Gather 2 Grow, they help sustain families through difficult times.
“Thank you for helping out,” said Lindsay to donors and grantors alike. “This really helps the kids during the summer, they really appreciate having it—and it does make a difference.”
To help continue funding programs like Gather 2 Grow for families across West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, we hope you’ll consider taking a moment to donate today.