When the dismissal bell rings on the last day of school most kids rejoice. In contrast, for families facing food insecurity, it’s a worrisome time of year. Summer can put a heavy burden on already stretched family grocery budgets. Many low-income families report spending more on food during the summer with an average increase of $316 more per month. Schools are a critical provider of nutrition for many students. When schools close for the summer, students lose access to free school meal programs and Weekend Backpack Programs for up to ten weeks.

Starting this winter, our Food For Free team explored options for how we could keep our school programs running during the summer. During the school year many families rely on our free School Markets and Weekend Backpack Programs to fill in gaps in their family grocery budgets. How could we continue to operate these programs into the summer to help families cover these gaps?

First, we had a logistical challenge to tackle to make this happen. Both our Weekend Backpack Programs and School Markets are hosted by local schools. With schools closed for the summer, we needed new locations to offer these programs. We’re pleased to share that along with our community partners, we were able to find locations for both our Summer Markets and Summer Weekend Backpack Program! We also are grateful to a private donor who stepped up with a generous donation for our summer Weekend Backpack Program. Our summer programs mix now includes:

• Market in the Park. This will be Market in the Park’s fourth year and while it’s not new, it’s an important part of our summer programs! Our “Market in the Park” will be held five Thursdays this summer at Danehy Park in North Cambridge. Market in the Park provides families with access to fresh healthy produce. Market in the Park looks and operates just like a farmer’s market but is free and open to the entire community.
• Evening Markets Pilot. The city of Cambridge is offering “Summer Supper” programs where families can grab a healthy free dinner together. We will be offering Evening Markets at a few of these suppers where families can conveniently shop for healthy fresh produce and other nutritious foods.
• Summer Weekend Backpack Program Pilot in Cambridge and Somerville. Our summer Weekend Backpack Program pilot will operate at four camps in Cambridge and one in Somerville. We hope to reach many of the same students who participate in our school year Weekend Backpack Programs.

With any pilot program, we expect a learning curve. In the fall, we will evaluate the success of our summer programs and determine how we can make them happen every summer!