Summer Meals Program
PVEN Kids' Summer Meals Program
PVEN’s 2026 Free Summer Meals Program starts this June!
Distribution Reminders:
- You do NOT need to show up first thing at 8am. We will NOT run out of food. We actually prefer you show up as your schedule allows. If the line gets too long before we start, we will have to tell you to come back later. We don’t want any accidents on 209. Please leave the first half an hour for parents that need to head to work after pickup if possible. We have the same kits for everyone for all three hours we are open!
- We open promptly at 8am and close promptly at 11am. The state will not allow us to take anyone before or after these times, so please make sure you are in the parking lot by 11am to guarantee a meal box for your child.
- Please be polite to our friends above the food pantry at DES unloading their students throughout the morning. You may need to wait a few minutes for them to unload safely. These are students with disabilities and we ask that you keep that in mind when circling the parking lot.
- This year’s kits are quite large (23in x 9in x 7in and 14lbs) as they contain 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches for each child. Because of this, we ask that you have your trunk clean and ready for us. We will not be able to put these boxes in your front seat or side doors this year.
For almost ten years, PVEN has gone out into the community to feed children over the summer months with the assitance of the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the USDA’s SUN Meals Program (Summer Food Service Program – SFSP). In 2025, PVEN was able to serve 17,885 lunches to 3,577 children over 11 weeks.
Our reason for doing this is simple: no kid deserves to go hungry. Period.
Childhood hungry and/or food insecurity doesn’t only affect a child during their formative years by hindering physical and intellectual development and potential for academic success, but it also echoes over the course of the entire lifespan. Kaiser-Permanente’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study documented that experiences like childhood hunger negatively affect lifelong health outcomes, while also potentially causing emotional trauma that may impact that child for the remainder of their life, as well as the familial generations after them.
PVEN’s Summer Meals Program also creates an opportunity to provide nutrition education and information on local resources to hundred of low-income families in Monroe County. PVEN’s staff creates healthy recipes and cultivates lists of local resources that benefit low-income families and distributes this information in our Summer Lunch kits.
With guidance from the PA Department of Education and the USDA, we are now able to distribute 5 shelf-stable healthy meals for each child so parents only need to come out to our location once per week. The hours of the program are tailored to accommodate working parents and distributions are done via drive thru so pickup will be quick and easy for caregivers.
There are no income or residency requirements for participants in this program. We want ALL children to have a fair shot at growing up healthy, happy, and able to fulfill their potential for the whole community’s benefit.
