The Flint Institute of Music and Flint Public Library Collaborate to Provide Summer Meal Programs

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The Gloria Coles Flint Public Library and FIM have partnered with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to make sure that, in addition to a whole lot of fun, young participants in classes and activities across the Cultural Center Campus will have access to daily meals and snacks through the federal Meet Up and Eat Up food distribution program. Between the two sites, free lunch and snacks will be provided Monday through Friday, all summer long.

The start of summer often means the end of access to daily meals for students who rely on free school lunch programs, and the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan works hard to fill this gap by providing healthy meals at summer feeding sites throughout Genesee, Gladwin, Saginaw and Lapeer Counties. Meals are free to all children 18 and younger, and no registration is required to participate.

FIM, which operates Dort Music Center, Whiting Auditorium, and Elgood Theatre on the Cultural Center Campus, will offer lunch Monday through Thursday from 12 – 1 p.m. in Durant Plaza, between Whiting Auditorium and Sloan Museum of Discovery. “This is a great time for kids to stop by for lunch when camps at Sloan and FIM are letting out,” says Aiesha Lewis, Community Programs Coordinator at FIM. The program will kick off June 24 and run through August 15.

Each week will focus on a theme, such as “Stars and Stripes,” “All Around the World” and “Olympics 2024,” and will include crafts and activities in addition to lunch. Kids can return from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. for snacks and activities in the same location.

Across the street, Gloria Coles Flint Public Library will offer lunch through Meet Up and Eat Up Tuesdays through Fridays from 12 – 1 p.m. June 18 through August 2. The library will distribute meals in conjunction with its scheduled weekly programming, which includes Wacky Wednesdays and Family Yoga on Thursdays throughout the summer. They will also offer snack time from 5 – 6 p.m. each day.

Both FIM and Flint Public Library will employ interns through the Flint and Genesee Group's Summer Youth Initiative to assist with activity and food distribution.