Another Successful Local Lunchbox!
Over the summer, thousands of school-age students lose the daily lunch provided by schools. With your help, Daily Table participated for the second time this summer in the “Local Lunchbox” free summer meals program. We prepared fresh meals in our commissary kitchen, including pizza with vegetables, BBQ chicken with roasted potatoes, and ravioli marinara with vegetables.
Every day for the entire summer break any young person 18 years or under (or their parent/guardian) could come into any Daily Table between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for a free, healthy lunch to go. Daily Table is proud to have been able to distributed 4289 meals throughout the summer, and helped families in the Boston area! Not only that, but Daily Table meals were also distributed at the YMCA in Dorchester.
Local Lunchbox was created in 2020 by the Shah Family Foundation and the YMCA of Greater Boston. The program takes United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding already allocated to summer meals and provides healthy, delicious, and culturally-relevant meals free-of-charge to kids and teens.
Carly Johnson, a caseworker at Youth Build Boston says, “I shop at Daily Table in Roxbury all the time. One day I was in buying my lunch and found out about Local Lunchbox. It was so encouraging to know that a young person can get good, quality food for free.” Johnson works in a program that helps students earn a high school degree while exploring learning a trade. “A lot of the kids come in in the morning without breakfast–and without lunch some days. I told them that if they’re under 18, they can get a good, quality lunch for free.” She went on, “It can feel ‘shameful’ to access food if you don’t have much money. But Daily Table is a place where you can be a shopper, a customer. Because I shop there myself, I knew these young people would be treated right and I felt great being able to tell my students all they have to do is go in and grab a nice lunch.”
Daily Table’s Commissary Kitchen Manager Jason Carpenter made sure the meals were both nutritious and delicious. “We try really hard to make sure our lunches are meals kids will actually eat and that they meet all of our nutritional guidelines.” Jon Huntley, Director of Operations added, “When we make those lunches, we know we’re sending kids home with a great lunch that tastes great and is good for them.”