When school lets out in June, many children in Chatham County lose access to the meals they rely on during the year. For these kids and their families, summer can bring uncertainty and hunger. SNACK! steps in to bridge that gap. Each week, every child enrolled receives enough food for 21 meals, giving families peace of mind and children the nourishment they need to thrive.
This summer, 1,695 Chatham County children received weekly groceries through CORA’s SNACK! program while school was out, the most children the program has ever served and a 16.7% growth over last year. It’s a number CORA is watching closely, because SNACK! tends to be an early indication of the wider community needs.
Requests for children’s food assistance carry a particular weight. Families under strain will often manage their own meals first, cutting back quietly before they’ll let their kids go without. That’s part of why CORA’s team pays close attention to programs like SNACK!: when a family reaches out specifically because their children need groceries, it usually means the pressure at home has been building for a while.
“A nearly 17 percent jump in the number of children needing summer groceries isn’t a statistic to us. It’s a lot of families, in a county many people think of as thriving, who are having a harder time keeping food on the table than they were a year ago,” said Melissa Driver Beard, CORA’s Executive Director. “We built SNACK! because we know what happens to kids when school lunch disappears for the summer. What this year’s numbers tell us is that more of our neighbors are closer to that edge than most people realize, and that the community’s support has to grow with the need.”
A very special thanks goes out to the SNACK! site coordinators, who generously open their spaces, organize volunteer teams, and help with administration. Many even go the extra mile by coordinating hot meals or hygiene & school supplies to give to families at their site. Our site coordinators’ dedication ensures that children in their local community can access the food and resources they need to grow. With their help, CORA looks forward to continuing to expand SNACK! to reach more children in need across the county.
The incredible volunteers at our distribution sites make SNACK! possible. Each week, our volunteers help set up groceries, warmly welcome families, and distribute food, even on the hottest days of the summer. We’re inspired by the way this community comes together to help one another, especially this year as more families face food insecurity.
Because nutrition and learning go hand in hand to help children flourish, we were proud to continue our partnership with Chatham Reads to bring bilingual books to many of our sites this summer!
CORA’s work is only possible because of the volunteers, donors, and community partners who show up for their neighbors, whether that means restocking pantry shelves, or opening a church hall as a SNACK! site over the summer. As need continues to rise across Chatham County, CORA is inviting the community to be part of what comes next, through giving, volunteering, or simply spreading the word about the resources available to any family that needs them.
