“Few things are as gripping as thousands of hungry children right here in our area. We must help,” said MUST Ministries Pres. and CEO Dr. Ike Reighard. “The children are counting on us. As a community, we can’t let them go hungry.”

For many children living in poverty, the free and reduced meals received during the school year are the only meals available to them. For 28 years, MUST Ministries has helped to fill the hunger gap during the summer months through its Summer Lunch program. Last year, the program provided more than 6,370 children with 544,450 meals in just nine weeks. The goal is to serve just as many children this year, if not more. The program feeds children in eight counties: Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas, Fulton (North and South), Gwinnett, Paulding and Pickens.

“Our supporters and volunteers make this critical program possible,” according to MUST Pres. And CEO Ike Reighard. “The number of children we serve continues to grow each summer, particularly in this post-pandemic environment when poverty rates have sky-rocketed.”

Specifically, children will receive 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches, plus drinks and snacks. The most significant pieces of the Kids’ Kits are the “entrees”, Reighard said. The complete list includes:

Lunch entrees

  • Microwavable
    Mac N Cheese Cup
    Pasta
    Ramon Noodle Cups
    Rice Cups
    Noodle Bowls
  • 12 or 16 oz Jar of Peanut Butter
  • 12 or 16 oz Jar of Jelly (plastic jars only)
  • 8 oz Bottle of water

Breakfast entrée

  • Cereal Cups
  • Breakfast bars
  • Pop Tarts
  • Oatmeal Packets
  • Grits Packet
  • Pre-packed muffins

Juices

  • Capri Sun
  • Juice boxes

Salty snack (Individual sizes)

  • Chips
  • Cheese dig & Pretzel Sticks
  • Sandwich Crackers

Sweet snack (Individual sizes)

  • Cookies
  • Fruit snacks/fruit roll ups
  • Raisins
  • Fruit cups/cans

Items can be found on our Amazon Wish List:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/FVDS0A574YBD?returnFromLogin=1

Please deliver or ship your items to MUST Donation Center, 1280 Field Parkway, Marietta, Ga 30066 Tuesday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Label your donation “MUST Summer Lunch