Eat. Learn. Play. Mobilizes Community to Provide Summer Meals for Children Across Oakland
Staff at East Oakland Collective ready their site for summer meals
This summer, our community stepped up to ensure that children across Oakland had access to the meals that they needed to thrive.
With city budget shortfalls, Oakland’s Summer Food Service Program—which has provided critical meal support to Oakland’s children for more than 40 years—was abruptly halted, putting thousands of children at risk of facing a summer marked by hunger.
Eat. Learn. Play., East Bay Community Foundation, and the Alameda County Community Food Bank mobilized to deliver nutritious meals directly to children at school sites, summer camps, and in the community—ensuring the focus of their summer was on play and fun, not food scarcity.
We are especially appreciative of our community of donors and partners, including the PG&E Corporation Foundation, in helping us meet this need.
“Hunger should not be an issue. The kids run around here in 100-degree weather sometimes, so we make sure we give them fruits and vegetables and the nutrients they need to be out in the sun,” said Alyssa Noble, ACE Camp Food Program Director. “We’re very thankful for Eat. Learn. Play. this year, because we just weren’t sure how we were going to make this happen.”
We are proud of our community for rising to meet this moment of need, but we also know the work isn’t done. Families in our community continue to face challenges due to cuts to critical food and nutrition programs. With your support, Eat. Learn. Play. will continue to champion solutions to ensure that every child has the food and resources they need to thrive.
