Meals On Wheels For Kids Expands Program To Serve Gulfport And Lealman Children And Families

TAMPA, Fla. - May 15, 2020 - PRLog -- Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger (TBNEH), a tri-county leader in hunger relief, research and program development, is proud to announce two new partners, Catherine A. Hickman Theater of Gulfport and Clearview United Methodist Church, who will host weekly meal packing events and assist with delivery to children and families in St. Petersburg and Gulfport through the Meals On Wheels for Kids (MOW4Kids) program.

"We are grateful MOW4Kids is serving our community, especially with summer approaching, this ensures our children have the same access to good and healthy food as we enter what may be a long and uncertain summer," said Samuel Henderson, Mayor of City of Gulfport. "We are happy to support the Network's mission to help children and families in Gulfport. This program also gives our employees the opportunity to give back by helping our community."

Volunteers will assemble shelf stable foods and produce at the Catherine A. Hickman Theater on Saturday for delivery on Monday and at Clearview United Methodist Church on Tuesday for delivery on Wednesday. On delivery days, volunteers load school buses with produce and shelf stable foods to deliver to the homes of children and families around St. Petersburg.

"As COVID closed schools and took its toll on the economy, we were so grateful to have space to offer when the Network approached us about hosting this program," said Pastor Keri LaBrant. "We and the Network both value the most vulnerable people around us, and doing more together for families who are struggling is a win-win."

The Network's MOW4Kids program launched this past March,in response to COVID-19 school closures, to serve children, 18 years or younger, with meals delivered to their home by volunteers. MOW4Kids is an alternative option for kids that are not able to access meal distribution sites throughout the county; and/or 2) kids that have difficulty accessing open food pantries. The program serves the following zip codes:  33701, 33703, 33704, 33705, 33707, 33708, 33709, 33710, 33711, 33712, 33713 and 33714.

Meal packing events take place each week at the following sites: Saturdays-Catherine Hickman Theater (5501 27^th Ave. S., Gulfport, FL 33707), Tuesdays- Clearview UMC (4515 38th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33713), and Saturday- Daystar Life Center (1055 28th St. S., St. Petersburg, FL 33712).

Interested in volunteering? Visit www.networktoendhunger.org/volunteer to complete a volunteer application. If you or anyone you know could benefit from this program, please call (813) 344-5837 or visit www.NetworktoEndHunger.org/MOW4Kids.