For the fifth consecutive year, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is providing free lunches through its Summer Meals Program in Allentown and Quakertown, making sure no child is without access to nutritious meals during the summer months.
The Summer Meals Program at St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus runs through Aug. 25, Monday through Friday, from noon-2 p.m. except on the July 4 holiday. Lunches will be distributed at 317 N. Fourth St., Allentown at the Hearts in Service (H.I.S.) Center, across the street from the hospital. Every Thursday, fresh produce will also be available for children to share with their families, and on Fridays they will be given bags full of nonperishable food to take home for the weekends.
In response to the growing need, West Side Hammer Electric has increased its gift to $12,500 to expand and enhance this initiative in the Allentown area.
The St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus Summer Meals Program will also run through Aug. 25, 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, 670 S. Main St., Quakertown. This site will also be providing fresh produce for children to share with their families every Thursday, and children will receive a bag full of nonperishable food to take home to their families for the weekends each Friday.
St. Luke’s is also supporting the Summer Meals Program in the Upper Perkiomen School District provided by The Open Link with weekly CSA (community-supported agriculture) shares from June 20 to August 18.
Penn Community Bank has invested in the Quakertown Summer Meals program for the fourth consecutive year. Its $12,000 contribution supports a partnership to oversee the program, ensuring children have access to a wider variety of healthy meal options, weekly CSA shares, nourishment over the weekends, financial literacy education, and other engaging activities.
The Summer Meals program was created in response to the Network’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), which showed that these two locations are in the catchment areas of school districts where over 50% of students are eligible for free and reduced meals during the academic year.
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