On a scorching summer afternoon, 7-year-old Joshua and 5-year-old Julisza were enjoying playtime with their mom, Elizabeth Lazaro. The family of three, along with some friends, had come to La Villita Park in Chicago’s South Lawndale neighborhood to enjoy its large playground and cool off in the splash pad.
To their pleasant surprise, La Villita Park is also a stop for the Food Depository’s Lunch Bus.
“[The Lunch Bus] came in at the perfect time,” Lazaro said, happily. Getting through the pandemic as a single working mom has been tough, she shared, and she’s grateful for community programs like the Lunch Bus especially as food prices rise.
In the summer, many families who rely on the free school lunches during the academic year to provide nutrition for their children lose that important resource when school is not in session. Every year, the Food Depository’s Lunch Bus helps to fill that gap by distributing free, healthy boxed lunches and snacks to youth in high need communities across Cook County.
All youth under 18 are eligible for the meals, which are funded by the federal Summer Food Service Program. Lunches consist of healthy options such as a salad, sandwich or wrap, fruits and vegetables, cheese sticks, crackers, hummus and milk, etc.
The Food Depository’s generous donors help underwrite operational expenses and staffing for youth meal programs.
This year, the Lunch Bus served the meals during 12 daily stops (Monday through Friday) across three routes – two in the suburbs and one in the city. Stops are located at convenient, well-known community sites such as parks, libraries and churches.
For the first time this year, the Food Depository partnered with the Chicago Park District’s Rollin’ Rec Activity Van for its daily city stops. The special collaboration ensured kids remained nourished and active during the summer months.
This summer, the Food Depository distributed approximately 136,000 meals to children and teens. Free healthy meals and snacks were available at 160 community-based sites and our Lunch Bus.
Leticia Solis, 11, and Anissa Solis, 5, of Burbank picked up meals at the Justice Park District. Anissa will enter kindergarten this year and Leticia will start sixth grade at a new school. This upcoming school year, Leticia is most excited to play sports. Her favorites are volleyball, softball and basketball.
Their mother, Hilda, said the lunch program is helpful because she works full time for a local bank. On the days she works from home, food is one less thing to worry about.
“It’s definitely easy to grab something healthy.”
Hilda Solis, mother
The Lunch Bus is just one of the Food Depository’s programs that gets healthy meals to children all year round. We have partner with hundreds of community organizations, park districts and youth program operators every year to provide nutritious meals at hundreds of meal sites across Cook County. In fiscal year 2022, we served more than 379,000 meals to youth in partnership with 201 community sites.
Families with children are more likely to face food insecurity. According to Feeding America, an estimated 1 in 6 families with children in the U.S. face hunger.
Nationally, and in Illinois, Black and Latino families with children are disproportionately at risk of hunger. According to an analysis of Chicago metro data collected in June 2022, 44% of Black households with children, 28% of Latino households with children and 13% of white households with children experienced food insecurity.
Thanks to supporters of the Food Depository, our youth programs like the Lunch Bus are making sure children across Cook County have access to a nutritious meal year-round.
