For the sixth consecutive year, the St. Luke’s Summer Meals Program will be providing free lunches in Allentown and Quakertown to ensure every child in need has access to nutritious meals during the summer months.
St. Luke’s Community Health Department created the Summer Meals program in response to the Network’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), which showed that more than half of students in these areas are eligible for free and reduced meals during the academic year.
St. Luke’s is once again partnering with Catholic Charities to serve the Allentown community and Free Fall Action Sports to serve the Quakertown community.
The Summer Meals Program at St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus runs through Aug. 23, Monday through Friday, from noon to 2 p.m. except on the July 4 holiday. Lunches will be distributed at 317 N. Fourth St. in Allentown at the Hearts in Service (H.I.S.) Center, next to Allentown Central Catholic High School.
Every Tuesday, fresh produce will also be available for children to share with their families, and on Fridays, they will be given bags full of non-perishable food to take home for the weekends.
The Summer Meals Program at St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus is supported by West Side Hammer Electric, a division of Hatzel & Buehler.
The St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus Summer Meals Program will also run through Aug. 23, Monday through Friday, from noon-2 p.m. except on the July 4 holiday. Lunches will be distributed at Free Fall Action Sports Energy Center at 670 S. Main St., Quakertown.
This location will also be providing fresh produce for children to share with their families every Tuesday, and children will receive a bag full of nonperishable food to take home to their families for the weekends each Friday.
Penn Community Bank has invested in St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus Summer Meals since the program began.
“This program has been a priority based on our CHNA and we are honored to provide access to healthy summer meals for our Quakertown community. Thanks to the generosity of Penn Community Bank, more children have access to food and other vital resources they need and deserve,” said Kathy Ramson, St. Luke’s Quakertown and Upper Bucks community health liaison.
Produce for the program’s meals is provided by St. Luke’s Rodale Institute Organic Farm. The take-home bags of fresh produce, along with recipes and meal preparation ideas, are provided through the St. Luke’s Community Supported Agriculture program.
The program is garnering national attention. SLUHN’s Department of Community Health recently earned the 2023 Gold-Level Turnip the Beet Award – the highest level possible – for its summer meals program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
The Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding summer meal program sponsors throughout the United States each year. St. Luke’s Summer Meals program is one of only two award recipients – and the only health system honored – in Pennsylvania.
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