Kids Summer Meals offer weekly pickup in McArthur this summer

McArthur families can pick up Kids Summer Meals every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Francis Outreach, 404 W. South Street, and every Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Goodwill, 110 Cherry Lane. The Grab-Go setup gives parents, grandparents and other caregivers two recurring pickup windows in town instead of one one-time distribution.

The program serves children ages 18 and under and is part of the summer meal network for Jackson and Vinton counties. Ohio Department of Education and Workforce information says free meals and snacks are provided to eligible children at approved sites, and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Summer Meals Site Finder helps families locate participating locations. In McArthur, the two sites broaden access for households that may be balancing work shifts, childcare and limited transportation.

That access matters in a county where a trip across town can be difficult for families without reliable vehicles. Two weekly pickup days also help keep food support steady when school cafeterias are closed and students lose the meals they count on during the year. The fast, discreet Grab-Go format can be especially useful for caregivers trying to stretch grocery money without adding another long stop to an already crowded day.

The need is real across Ohio. Children’s Hunger Alliance says more than 505,000 children in the state, about one in five, struggle with hunger. Summer often makes that problem harder because school meals are no longer available, leaving families to fill the gap on their own. In rural communities like Vinton County, that gap can be felt quickly when gas money is tight or a work schedule makes it hard to reach a site outside regular hours.

St. Francis Outreach Center also appears in the Vinton County Resource Guide, which was developed through collaboration among The Ohio State University Extension, C.A.R.E. United Methodist Outreach, the St. Francis Outreach Center, the Child Abuse and Neglect Committee and the Vinton County Drug Task Force. That local network underscores how summer meals fit into a broader system of help for families trying to keep children fed through the summer months.