Summer Food Program Ensures Good Nutrition for Kids
Healthy Eating is Especially Important during the Health Emergency
(Philadelphia, PA – June 15, 2020) – The Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (PHA) school age residents and those in surrounding neighborhoods will have access to healthy breakfasts and lunches this summer, despite the disruptions caused by the national health emergency.
“Access to good, nutritional meals is critical to the overall development of young people in addition to maintaining their health during this crisis,” said PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah. “Many families in Philadelphia need access to food because of City’s high poverty rate and the additional challenges of the pandemic.”
The PHA Summer Food Service Program will offer those meals from now until Friday, August 14th. Hours of operation are Monday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Youth ages 3 to 18 from public housing sites and the surrounding neighborhoods will pick up an estimated 25,000 meals. This year is a grab and go model to adhere to the social distancing. The program also provides 25 part-time jobs forPHA residents and local residents this year.
The following sites will have the program: Abbottsford Homes, Bartram Village, Cambridge/Richard Allen, Fairhill Apartments, Harrison Plaza, Johnson Homes, Lucien E. Blackwell Community Center, Norris Apartments, Oxford Village, Raymond Rosen, Spring Garden, West Park Apartments, and Wilson Park.
PHA is partnering with CBS Kosher Foods to offer the Summer Food program this year, greatly reducing the agency’s costs.
Children who do not live near a participating PHA site can still go to a neighboring site or one of 150 sites operated by the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which will offer similar meals.
Residents, including those who were formerly served at sites that are not hosting the program this summer, can go online to the USDA website at www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks to locate the Summer Food locations closest to them. Residents can also look for the site nearest to them at www.phila.gov/youthprograms/meals/Pages/default.aspx, www.hungercoalition.org/summermeals, or by texting “FOOD” or “MEALPA” to 877-877, or calling 1-855-252-MEAL. For more information about participating in PHA’s Summer Food Service Program, call 215-684-3959.
SFSP is a reimbursement-based grant program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, through Pennsylvania’s Department of Education. The intent of this program is to provide free breakfast, lunch, and/or snacks to children 18-years-old and under. For more information about participating in PHA’s Summer Food Service Program, call 215-684-3959.
