A Second Harvest Community Food Bank program helps feed area students over the summer.

No Hunger Summer kicked off this week. The free summer feeding program serves students ages 18 and under.

Blake Haynes with Second Harvest says the Backpack Buddies program for elementary school-aged children serves over 3,500 per week during the school year.

“Now, we come to summer break where it’s a time for a kid to be a kid – they’re out playing baseball, softball, they’re at the swimming pool, you know, things you can remember from your childhood,” Haynes said. “That’s the reality for, maybe some of us, but not all of us. Some of us are wondering, ‘After my baseball game that I have tonight… what am I going to eat?’ That’s a reality for nearly 15,000 kids within our service territory, so this is one of those ways that they’re getting a meal throughout that day.”

For more information about the program and to find a list of times and locations, click here or call (816) 364-FOOD.