The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library and UMC Food Ministry have partnered to hand out free meal boxes to children under 18 and young adults 19-21 in Individualized Education Programs.
The library and UMC typically offer free meals during the summer, but due to COVID-19 and the impact it is having on in-person learning — and access to school meals — for area students, the program has been extended and modified to feature meal boxes with seven dinners and seven snacks.
“The pandemic has increased the need in our community for healthy meals. Currently, one in four children in Hamilton County lives in a food insecure household, meaning they don’t always know where their next meal is coming from,” said Lisa Soper, Youth Services & Programming Coordinator. “Hungry kids are not able to focus on learning, which can cause them to fall behind their peers in school. Distributing meals is one of the many ways the Library supports the educational needs of children and teens in our community.”
Meal boxes are available 3-5 p.m. Mondays at the following library locations:
- Downtown Main Library
- Avondale
- Bond Hill
- Corryville
- Elmwood Place
- Groesbeck
- Madisonville
- Mt. Healthy
- North Central
- Northside
- Norwood
- Pleasant Ridge
- Reading
- St. Bernard
- Walnut Hills
- West End
- Westwood
Children do not have to be present during meal pick-up, and you can get more information about this program — funded as part of the USDA's Child and Nutrition Programs — and eligibility at cincinnatilibrary.org/meals.
Info about food distribution programs in the city is available at the Freestore Foodbank online or 513-357-4600, or by calling the United Way at 211.
