AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – It’s something we’ve been telling you for a while, child hunger is a problemm and families are experiencing food insecurity right here at home.
The Family YMCA of Greater Augusta is helping in the fight against hunger by offering free meals to kids and teens 18 and under.
They’re finding solutions in offering meals across 48 locations – ensuring no child goes hungry.
The Cheryl’s Kitchen summer food program is nothing new to the family YMCA.
It’s something they’ve been doing for years. The Y’s CFO, Cheryl Wirt, started it herself.
“The food program started at a school in a school lunch room, and we had our staff and volunteers making sandwiches at a school, and it grew from there,” said Amber Henry, finance and food program director, Family YMCA of Greater Augusta.
Just last year, Cheryl’s Kitchen provided more than 530,000 meals to youth across the community.
This summer, the need has increased.
“She’s very passionate about making sure kids across both states are fed and they’re not hungry and getting the nutritious things they need,” said Henry.
Last year, they offered meals across 26 sites in Georgia and South Carolina, nearly doubling this year’s 48 locations.
“We have had locations actually call us and say, ‘Hey, I know you’re doing this, we really need help.’ It’s not just summer camps, we’ve had hubs, apartment complexes, call us on a daily basis and say ‘Hey, is there any way you can help us make sure our kids get fed,’” said Henry.
She says they’re giving out about 5-thousand meals each day across all the sites.
They’re South Carolina locations serve as a grab-and-go location, where they send out their Y on the Fly vans.
“We have our mobile Y on the Fly vans at our SC site, and kids can come up to it, and we do 3,4,7 day meals at our sites,” said Henry.
Every meal is prepped and bagged daily by staff and volunteers at the Y’s headquarters, where they will continue serving kids during the summer through August 1.
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