Summer Bag Program

Summer Bag Program will be available beginning June 16, 2008 through August 8, 2008, from 12 PM - 1 PM, Monday through Friday, at the following three locations: Lynnridge & Lynnwood, Arney Hills Apartments / Elizabethton Housing, South Hills Apartments.

Unlike previous years, we did not receive our food truck which is necessary to supply our Summer Bag Program. This year we must collect all the food for the program. Any churches, businesses or organizations that would like to help provide lunches, please call (423) 543-4673.

This program starts about a week after school gets out. AA&WC signs up for a food program that Washington County Schools offer during the summer only. So many children miss the meals they get during the school year. The meals also help families with limited income. When summer comes the children are home everyday and there's more mouths to feed, but income or food stamps don't go up. For the past two years we have provided this service for the community. We could have as many sites as we need, but, we try to choose an area that children don't have to depend on a ride to get the meal due to so many children being home alone. We tried having a pick-up for meals next to the health department, but he volume of children wasn't good. The pick-up for the last two years has been at Lynnwood and Lynnridge apartments. Even if people don't live there they can bring their children up to get a meal. We serve between 80-120 children per day Monday-Friday. The Washington County School System provides a truck that delivers breakfast of lunch. We only use the lunch because most children sleep in. The truck arrives and gives each child a meal with milk. Children must be present to receive the food and must eat the meal at the location. This is to insure that the children are the ones who benefit from the program. We also provide school supplies, toys, soap, shampoo and flip flops to the children. Some may as why is a crisis pregnancy center providing meals. We not only care about the child in the womb, but the child out of the womb as well. If we don't reach out and help children and provide not only their needs, but try to intervene at an early age then these children could become the next to do drugs or the next to have a crisis pregnancy. Remember, our youngest client was 13. We really could use some help with this program. I would love to have workers who could teach Bible stories during the time the children are eating. I also could use someone to just meet the truck and sign for the meals. If you would like to help or know of an area that might need this program, please call us at 543-4673.