Volunteers box meals for students experiencing food insecurity during summer break

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Summer is a welcome break for most students, but for some, their time away from school can mean not having enough food to eat.

Two local organizations are looking to help ensure kids across the Midlands don’t go hungry.

Harvest Hope Food Bank held its 1st on-site volunteer event at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.

CEO Erinn Rowe believes summer can be an even harder time for families in need, saying, “We feed over 800 kids weekly, and we are packing food that we get to take to our Summer Feeding Program, and have these kids eat healthy fun delicious food this summer.”

Four teams of 20 employees took turns preparing boxes, or meal kits, which include five days worth of meals and snacks for kids across the Midlands.

“Our volunteers are engaged with non-profits across the state. We know that we are building a better tomorrow and a healthier generation the more we give back. It’s not impacting just the people we give food to directly, it’s impacting our communities, so everyone is happy, it’s hot and they’re sweating, but they’re all happy to be here and happy to give back,” says Kelsie Crocker with Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Rowe says Harvest Hope is always looking for fresh volunteers. If you or your organization is interested in volunteering, visit their website here for more information.

“It’s so humbling to me and I love the energy that I see when people truly can touch and feel food that they’re feeding a family. And we have people all the time saying, ‘How can I help? How can I give back?’ Every can…every piece of fruit — that changes somebody’s lives,” says Rowe.

The food bank serves 20 counties across SC. Blue Cross reports that its employees have volunteered over 21,000 hours last year across community organizations.

“It takes one person to change a child’s heart, it takes one can to add to a grocery cart, and we can really make a huge impact as blue cross and as a community to get out there and change lives,” says Crocker.