Come help Pack the Cruisers with food for Summer Lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 5. All Hamilton County Kroger stores and the police and sheriff departments are partnering with countywide Summer Lunch programs and food pantries that will provide meals to local children for the eight to 10 weeks of summer vacation. Check out this video about Pack the Cruiser.
When school’s out, some kids go hungry. Summer Lunch coordinators all across Hamilton County will provide food for children at a variety of programs that vary from hot meals to healthy meal packs to extra food pantry privileges to packed lunches. These programs are designed to serve those children most in need throughout the county who would typically receive free or reduced lunches throughout the school year. These are primarily volunteer-led lunch programs that have stepped in to fill the need.
The Pack the Cruiser Food Drive was piloted in 2017 in Fishers to help jumpstart food contributions. In 2018 it went countywide. This year, at the fifth Pack the Cruiser, all nine Kroger stores will be matched with six police departments and the Sheriff Department to help the Summer Lunch programs and food pantries fulfilling this need.
Police officers, deputies, and volunteers will be at the stores on June 5 with lists of the specific items that each of the programs need. Kroger gift cards are welcome also as this enables programs to purchase healthy fruits and vegetables and protein throughout the summer. Please help by donating the items from the list and Packing the Cruisers.
Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank works closely with Meals for Kids programs year-round and is proud to be a partner of Pack the Cruiser 2021. For more information, please visit HCHFoodBank.org or email Anita Hagen at hamiltoncountyharvest@gmail.com.