New Hampshire Food Bank Sponsoring USDA Summer Food Service Program in Areas of Coös and Carroll Counties

Manchester, N.H. –  The New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, is sponsoring the USDA Summer Food Service Program in areas of Coös and Carroll Counties, providing thousands of meals to children in need in New Hampshire’s North Country. Free summer meals will be available to all children without charge throughout June, July and August.

“The New Hampshire Food Bank recognized a need in 2011 and proposed a pilot program to offer meals in areas of the greatest need,” said Eileen Liponis, Executive Director, New Hampshire Food Bank. “We now have a strong working relationship with the Department of Education, school districts, and areas that may need administrative and financial support to ensure their children are fed and nourished during summer months when school is out of session. This program serves as a terrific example of our ongoing effort to meet the need in New Hampshire and we know this annual initiative ensures more New Hampshire kids receive the nutrition they need during the summer.”

The New Hampshire Food Bank piloted a summer meals program in 2011 and has continued to sponsor the program ever since. Over the last two summers, the New Hampshire Food Bank delivered 18,463 meals to 640 children through this program in Coös and Carrol Counties.

Meals will be distributed out of temperature-regulated coolers using a district school bus or a blue New Hampshire Food Bank truck on a first come, first serve basis, at the seven sites listed below:

June 21 – August 27

  • Stratford Public School, 19 School Street, North Stratford: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12-12:30 PM in the back by the cafeteria

June 28 – August 27

  • Groveton High School, 65 State Street, Groveton: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12 -12:30 PM in the back by the cafeteria
  • Colonel Town Recreation Department, 16 High Street, Lancaster: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10:15-10:45 AM in the parking lot
  • The Commons, NH 142 Rotary, Whitefield: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 AM-12 PM in the parking lot
  • Twin Mountain Recreation, 168 Lake Road, Carroll: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12:15-12:45 PM in the parking lot
  • Jefferson Town Hall, 698 Presidential Highway, Jefferson: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1-1:30 PM in the parking lot

June 23 – August 25

  • Kenneth A Brett School, 881 Tamworth Road, Tamworth: Wednesdays from 4-4:45 PM in the parking lot

Some of the days will include two meals in each bag for supplementation of the following day’s lunch. Seven days’ worth of meals will be provided at the Tamworth location once per week utilizing the USDA Meal Time Flexibility Waiver and Parent Guardian Pick Up Waiver.

For more information, call 603-669-9725 ext 1130 or 1150 or visit the NH Food Access Map and Summer Meals tab provided by UNH Cooperative Extension.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement: In accordance with the Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be available in languages other than English. To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD 3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program_intake@usda.govThis institution is an equal opportunity provider.

About the New Hampshire Food Bank
The New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, has been working to relieve hunger in the Granite State since 1984. The New Hampshire Food Bank receives no federal or state funding for food distribution. In 2020, as the state’s only Food Bank, the New Hampshire Food Bank efficiently procured and distributed more than 17.7 million pounds of food to people in need through more than 400 non-profit registered agencies. Agencies include food pantries, neighborhood centers, low-income housing sites, senior nutrition centers, family crisis centers, hospices, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after school programs, and day care centers. For more information about the New Hampshire Food Bank, please visit www.nhfoodbank.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

###