F4K works to alleviate childhood hunger

on the lower/outer Cape and beyond

by bringing together

the Church of the Holy Spirit

and local communities

to provide free meals

for children and teens

in the summer when schools are out

October 19, 2022

It may be surprising to learn that as many as 1 in 3 food insecure children on Cape Cod are not eligible for federal assistance from programs like Free/Reduced Price School Meals and SNAP. Barnstable County’s high cost of living (recently indexing at 131.5 vs the US average) pushes more families to and over the edge than the USDA federal assistance criteria recognize. That's one of the many reasons Food 4 Kids has played such an important role for families for the past 10 summers. Our meals have always been provided free to all children, without qualification, without stigmatizing.

Want to learn more about food insecurity in Barnstable County, or Massachusetts, or other communities important to you?  Check out Feeding America's MAP THE GAP.

They help make our program a success summer in, summer out! Together these 16 programs served 36,261 meals (not counting seconds): 1,597 breakfasts, 17,669 snacks, and 16,995 lunches this past summer. We were serving lunch to 530 children, on average, each day in July when all programs were running - 83 more children/day than last year!  These community programs share our mission to provide free meals to all children each summer, and most have been with us since our first few summers.

• Harwich Recreation Program – a partner since 2021
• Brewster Recreation Program – a partner since 2021
• Nauset Youth Alliance (Brewster) - a new partner this summer
• Brewster Day Camp – a partner since 2014
• Chatham Recreation Program – a partner since 2013
• Monomoy Community Services - a partner since 2013
• Orleans Recreation Program – a partner since 2014
• Orleans Just Try It Program – a partner since 2014
• Nauset School’s Sunburst Program – a partner since 2021
• Nauset School’s Summer School – a new partner this summer
• Eastham Recreation – a partner since 2013
• Wellfleet Recreation – a partner since 2013
• Truro Recreation – a partner since 2013
• Truro Library – a partner since 2016
• Provincetown Recreation – a partner since 2014
• Provincetown Summer Pre-school - a partner since 2017

And always, a very special THANKS to their staffs, who engage the children, hand out meals, and carefully follow all guidelines and complete all paperwork that only a government funded program would require!

We look forward to returning to these programs next summer!

Until next summer!

Put it on your calendar now:

our 11th summer begins

June 26, 2023

Childhood hunger is a

hidden reality on Cape Cod.

We are thrilled

you would like to help make a difference

by supporting Food 4 Kids!

Thank you!

This institution is an affirmative action /

equal opportunity provider