Cincinnati Public Schools and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are helping bridge the meal gap that some students may find themselves facing with during the summer season by offering free breakfasts, lunches and/or snacks to children 18 and under (or anyone between the ages of 19 and 21 determined to be mentally or physically disabled by a state or local public-educational agency).
Meals will be available via CPS through Aug. 2 and the Cincinnati Public Library through Aug. 16.
"More than 12 million children in the United States live in 'food insecure' homes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That means those families don't have enough food for every family member to lead a healthy life," says the national No Kid Hungry campaign. "This doesn't always mean that there is nothing to eat. But it can mean that children get smaller portions than they need, or parents aren't able to afford nutritious foods."
During the summer, children lose access to the guaranteed meals they receive at school during the year and can go hungry.
CPS is operating with the federally funded Summer Food Service Program for Children, which provided more than 1.5 million meals and snacks to students in 2018. And the Cincinnati Public Library has teamed up with UMC Food Ministry and Mt. Healthy City Schools to provide food, sponsored by the USDA and Ohio Department of Education.
For CPS meals: Arrive at the serving site 15 minutes prior to serving time. No registration is needed but all meals must be eaten on-site. See all meal times and locations here or call the CPS Food Services Department at 513-363-0800.
For library meals, visit cinlib.org/summerfood for more info.
Here are the CPS meal dates, times and locations.
And here are the library meal dates, times and locations:
- Main Library (Children’s Learning Center and TeenSpot): Meal at noon, snack at 3 p.m.
- Avondale Branch: Meal at 12:30 p.m., snack at 3:30 p.m.
- Bond Hill Branch: Meal at 1 p.m., snack at 4 p.m.
- College Hill Branch: Meal at 4:15 p.m.
- Covedale Branch: Meal at 3 p.m.
- Deer Park Branch: Meal at 12:30 p.m., snack at 4 p.m. (service ends Aug. 12)
- Elmwood Place Branch: Meal at 1 p.m. (service ends Aug. 14)
- Groesbeck Branch: Meal at 12:30 p.m.
- Madisonville Branch: Meal at 12:30 p.m., snack 4:15 p.m.
- Mt. Healthy Branch: Meal at 1 p.m. (Monday–Thursday, June 3-July 11 only)
- North Central Branch: Meal at 12:30 p.m. (service ends Aug. 14)
- Pleasant Ridge Branch: Meal at 3 p.m.
- Reading Branch: Snack at 1:30 p.m., meal at 4:30 p.m.
- St. Bernard Branch: Meal at 12:30 p.m., snack at 4:30 p.m. (service ends Aug. 14)
- Walnut Hills Branch: Meal at 4 p.m.
- West End Branch: Meal at 1 p.m., snack at 4 p.m.
