Project Joy expands summer food support for nearly 900 Lake County kids
Nearly 900 kids across Lake County and nearby communities are getting weekly Joy Bags as summer school meals disappear.
When school cafeterias close for summer, the food gap opens fast for families that count on free lunches and weekend bags during the school year. Project Joy is pushing into that gap with weekly Joy Bags for nearly 900 children across a service area that stretches from Two Harbors to Sturgeon Lake. Volunteers packed the first bags of the season at Coppertop Church on Wednesday, underscoring how the effort depends on neighbors, not bureaucracy.
Project Joy Northland describes itself as a community-run organization focused on ending hunger in the Northland, and its work began in 2012 in memory of Patrick Plys. Plys died that year at age 48 after a long battle with brain cancer, and his family has carried the effort forward under the motto “I Choose Joy.” The summer food work has become one of the most visible parts of that mission.
The bags are filled with easy-to-open, easy-to-prepare foods and are distributed through local youth organizations and partner sites, including Boys & Girls Club Lincoln Park, Damiano Kids’ Kitchen, Neighborhood Youth Services, Valley Youth Center and United Church of Two Harbors. Union Gospel Mission and the United Way of Carlton and Pine County Areas help make the deliveries possible, extending the reach into Carlton and Pine counties and giving North Shore families a weekly supply that bridges the weeks when school meals are no longer available.
The program has grown sharply since its first summer distribution in 2023, when it started with about 130 bags after Project Joy gave Union Gospel Mission a $17,500 check to launch the effort. By last summer, the reach had climbed to almost 7,000 food bags from Two Harbors down to Moose Lake, showing how quickly the need has expanded across the region. A 2025 St. Scholastica report said volunteers were packing up to 370 bags a week and distributing more than 4,300 bags last year.
That growth has been backed by local fundraising, including annual events at the Duluth Curling Club and donations such as the Rotary Club of Duluth’s $2,500 gift. For Lake County families, the practical impact is straightforward: one more dependable meal source through a season when the usual safety net disappears, and a reminder that summer hunger is being met with a local response built to last.
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