School is back in session but, if you can, try to reflect back all the way to the beginning of the summer. In early June we start to fill up our fridges, freezers, and pantries in preparation for summer meals. We expand from one weekly prep shift to four weekly prep shifts. Our modest staff is complimented by five energetic interns provided through a partnership with the United Way of King County. All of this is so that we can successfully serve over a hundred meals a day at five different summer meal sites.

This year’s summer meal program, like all others before it, was a whirlwind. Looking back, there are a few highlights worth sharing. This summer we added a new meal site at Jackson Park, a Seattle Housing Authority community just south of Shoreline. We served lunch and an afternoon snack in conjunction with their summer tutoring program. Being new to the community, the site started off slowly, but grew to serve a consistent number of kids and parents.

Last year, we piloted serving parent meals at select sites, and this year, we were able to expand the option to all of our meal sites. We’ve found that offering a parent meal breaks down a barrier for families to attend meal sites because everyone can eat together. Logic suggests that when children are in need of food, parents are struggling as well.

Over 7,200 healthy meals and snacks were served in North Seattle over the course of summer. This accomplishment is shared by all of our fabulous volunteers and partners. Be it cooking in a hot kitchen, lifting heavy coolers, or getting kids to eat their veggies, our HIP community did whatever it took to provide for kids at risk of hunger.