Wicomico Co. Public Library providing free lunches to local students

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – The Wicomico County Public Library, in partnership with the school district, is providing free lunches to keep students both fed and healthy throughout the summer.

From 12-12:45pm, Monday-Friday, summer volunteers are feeding kids, some of whom are part of the county’s most vulnerable populations.

Laura Toner said there’s great value in ensuring children eat a nutritious meal every day.

“Wicomico County has a growing and steady population of people that are unhoused, or housing insecure, and a lot of those people, especially teens and families, come to the library,” said Toner.

The program was launched back in 2018 and is made possible by funds from the state.

Untia Bigelow is one of the trailblazers who helped= bring the idea to life. She said feeding kids throughout the summer sets the precedent for the school year.

“In order for a child to learn, they have to have nutrition, “said Bigelow. “As long as we can give those things back, and help families be able to provide those things that they can’t provide, I think that is just great.”

“There’s always that gap during the summer, where kids lose that big portion of learning. We want to keep them learning throughout the summer, keep them enriched,” said Bigelow.

One of the ways they’re keeping students enriched is through the summer reading program.

Participants can breeze through books to stay on top of their literature skills. The idea is to help kids prepare for the next academic year,
but adults are encouraged to participate as well.

“A lot of children don’t like to read, so what you do is, you find your child’s niche,” said Bigelow. “They might like comic books, they might like chapter books, so finding those things and encouraging your children, ‘Hey, read and if you read, you can get this prize.”

You can register for the program at the library.