Philly Summer Meals program provides local kids with nutritional food

The city of Philadelphia will once again provide free, nutritional meals to local children this summer.

The Philly Summer Meals program officially launched on Tuesday, with kick off event at Heitzman Recreation Center in Harrowgate featuring music, food, activities and resources for Philadelphia families.

“No child living in Philadelphia should worry about food or wonder where their next warm meal will come from,” said Mayor Cherelle Parker. “The city’s summer meals program helps ease that worry by making nutritious meals available to our young people while school is out of session.”

In partnership with Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese, the School District of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, and other partners, Philadelphia will have more than 500 free summer meal sites available to children and teens.

No student ID, proof of citizenship, or registration is required. All children and youth up to age 18 in Philadelphia are eligible. However, meals must be eaten on-site due to USDA regulations (most summer meals are funded through the USDA’s Summer Food Services Program).

“Thousands of Philadelphia students rely on school meals during the year, which means that when school is not in session, they risk losing access to nutritious food,” said Vanessa Garrett Harley, Chief Deputy Managing Director for the Office of Children and Families. “The summer meals program is an incredible, community-based effort that ensures our children are food secure until the next school year begins.”

“We know that food insecurity is a significant barrier for some of our families, and hunger has a negative impact on many areas of a child’s health, especially learning,” added Superintendent Tony Watlington. “Together, we are not only providing meals but improving students’ health which directly impacts student success.”

A full list and finder of student meal sites for summer, pantries, meal sites, and older adult meal sites can be found at phila.gov/food. Interested families can also text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304 to receive a text with the 3 closest meal sites.