At an apartment complex in Marion, a food truck pulls into a parking lot. A girl points to a sign that reads out today’s menu: Chicken sandwiches, beans, and melon. Her mom, Kayla Ray, is standing outside their apartment building, with her three daughters. This summer meals program, through Feeding Southwest Virginia, was here last year, but Ray didn’t know about it.
Millions of kids across the country are eligible for free lunches during the school year, but only about 30% of them get free meals when schools are closed in the summer, according to the non-profit No Kid Hungry. There are summer meal programs across Virginia, but sometimes it can be challenging for families to know where food is available for pick up.
Feeding Southwest Virginia began offering kids in the Roanoke area food through a mobile food truck several years ago. It’s been a success, and this summer they added a second truck to help distribute meals into parts of Southwest Virginia too.
“We’ve seen over this year, about a double to three times the number of children,” said Murphy Lamie, one of the workers giving out food, which is assembled and trucked in from the organization’s Abingdon location. Last year, they distributed meals along this route with truck and a cooler. Now there are big signs that advertise “free food for kids.”
Parents sign up to receive food from the free program. The food truck stops by once a week, and families can take home boxes of shelf-stable food for the week, and order a meal from the food truck, which is set up like a small café.
Lamie said the food truck has more appeal for families and is more visible than what they were using before.
“My kids love it,” said Anna Clary. “They love that they have fresh fruit. They love the hot meals for lunch. They love the applesauce. It’s a really great program, honestly.”
Carolyn Olinger said this program helps her family get through the summer months, and she’s been here every week.
“With three kids, it’s rough,” said Olinger.
This year, Feeding Southwest Virginia also got a grant to provide meals to parents, as well as their kids, to allow families to eat together during the summer.
