In an effort to raise additional food over the summer, diocesan Catholic Charities is running the Summer Hungry Kids Campaign to support children who rely on free breakfast and lunches during the school year.
The campaign began more than a decade ago with the Knights of Columbus council at St. Francis de Sales Church in Purcellville. The council collected cereal for children in need for the former Catholic Charities food pantry in Leesburg. When the St. Lucy Food Project began in 2014, it adopted the initiative and expanded its reach beyond Loudoun County.
Throughout the school year, the St. Lucy Food Project works with five local Prince William and Manassas public schools to provide “Feed My Lamb Kits” to students in need. The kits include food items like granola bars, milk and oatmeal. The Summer Hungry Kids Campaign is an extension of the program.
Kara Burnham, a social worker at Rosa Parks Elementary School in Woodbridge, expressed her gratitude for the program and the impact it has had on the students this past school year. “Knowing that they can rely on these free food packages frees our students from food worries so they can focus on learning, growing and having fun, just like their peers,” she said.
According to Feeding America’s most recent data, an estimated 60,630 children struggle with food insecurity throughout the diocese. “Our goal is to help as many of them as we can across our extensive food pantry network,” said James McCaskey, outreach specialist for the St. Lucy project.
This summer, St. Lucy staff have reached out to schools and parishes throughout the diocese for their support. Summer camps at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria and Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Potomac Shores helped collect donations. Vacation Bible Schools at Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, St. Joseph in Herndon, Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria, and Holy Spirit Church in Annandale helped collect food.
The campaign’s goal is to reach a total of 50,000 pounds of food collected throughout the summer. In June, Catholic Charities collected 40,000 pounds of food through its Amazon wish list. Due to vacations in July, they are projecting around 10,000 pounds for the month.
“I’ve found in my time with Catholic Charities that God gives so much more than we can ever expect, and he always provides for those in need, especially when it comes to feeding his children,” McCaskey said. “My hope is that with more consistency year after year, we are able to build new, bigger and stronger relationships with our school and parish partners to support this campaign on a regular basis.”
The St. Lucy Food Project is asking donors to purchase food from their Amazon wish list for children in need. Food purchased from the wish list is shipped directly to the warehouse and distributed throughout the St. Lucy network.
Find out more
The Amazon wish list can be found at bit.ly/44jrZko. For more information on the St. Lucy Project and donations, visit ccda.net/give-help/donate-and-distribute-food/.
