CLEVELAND — For Anne Leach, food is a way of life. A registered dietitian at University Hospital, she knows the power of a good meal.
"It’s important to provide our children with healthy, nutritious meals."
But for many kids in Northeast Ohio, finding a meal -- let alone a healthy one -- is hard to come by.
“Cuyahoga County has the highest number of residents in Ohio that are food insecure," said Leach. "It is also home to the highest number of children that are food insecure. It’s definitely a growing problem here in Northeast Ohio.”
A problem that is then amplified when kids are out of school and away from meals that are normally provided to them.
Seeing this problem, in 2017 Leach helped launch the Summer Lunch Program for Kids at UH. Kids between the ages of 1-18 are able to stop by and get a meal free of charge. Without the program?
“They’d go hungry," she said. "The kids would go hungry if we didn’t offer these free meals they could go hungry.”
Luckily that's not the case. In just two years, the program has expanded to seven locations and has served more than 14,000 meals to kids in Northeast Ohio.
“It’s such a rewarding experience to see these children. They come in day after day and to know that we are making a difference."
Helping kids grow and nourishing our entire community.
“It’s about providing the healthy meals for these kids, for the families. Ultimately making our community a healthier place to live.”
There is no income qualification. Meals are offered Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. and must be eaten on site (take-out meals are not provided) at the following locations:
- UH Ahuja Medical Center (3999 Richmond Road, Beachwood) through Aug. 9
- UH Bedford Medical Center (44 Blaine Avenue, Bedford) through Aug. 16
- UH Cleveland Medical Center (11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland) through Aug. 9
- UH Elyria Medical Center (630 East River Road, Elyria) June 12 – Aug. 22
- UH Parma Medical Center (7007 Powers Boulevard, Parma) through Aug. 16
- UH Portage Medical Center (6847 Chestnut Street, Ravenna) through Aug. 16
- UH Richmond Medical Center (27100 Chardon Road, Richmond Heights) through Aug. 9