Families in need of food can now pick up free meals and produce once a week at all 18 branches of the Dayton Metro Library.
The library is working with Children’s Hunger Alliance and Premier Produce to try to make sure everyone has enough to eat.
Mandie Burns at the Dayton Metro Library says that’s become more challenging lately.
“The pandemic disrupted every area of our society and our economy,” she says. “And because many people had changes with their employment status in the spring, we’re seeing a lot of people that have maybe never sought food assistance in the past.”
Burns says in the spring, 10 of 18 library branches were in areas that met government qualifications for free food programs. Today, 16 branches meet qualifications, and the library was able to get grants to expand the program to all locations.
Parents can take up to ten meals per child per week, and now there’s even a fresh produce component. Anyone can stop by and pick up 22 pounds of pre-sorted fruits and vegetables.
While registration is not required, the pickup times are short. Most branches distribute food just once a week for one hour. You can view the full schedule here.
