"Feed the Kids" Free Lunch Program Slated During Spring Break in Waukesha
For more information contact:
Dana Baumgartner
Social Services Director
Waukesha County Salvation Army
Phone: 262-547-7367, ext. 229
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 20, 2019
“Feed The Kids” Free Lunch Program Slated During Spring Break in Waukesha
A special outreach for hungry children living in a challenged neighborhood
(Waukesha) . . . This Monday through Friday, March 25th - 29th 2019, volunteers at The Salvation Army of Waukesha County will be making and serving free bag lunches to 200-300 children and their caretakers from Noon-1pm at the City of Waukesha’s “Sentinel Park,” near Wal-Mart on the south side.
Spring Break is occurring in the Waukesha Public Schools during these dates, and “without this free lunch, the children who receive free or reduced-price meals at school might otherwise go hungry. This modest sack lunch may be, for many, their only full meal of the day,” explained Dana Baumgartner, local Salvation Army social services director.
The Waukesha County Salvation Army’s “Feed-The-Kids” program operates not only during Spring break but again all summer long explained Baumgartner.
Monday through Friday from June through August, volunteers arrive at 9 a.m., make hundreds of sandwiches and pack as many lunches, then load them all into the Salvation Army’s “Mobile Canteen,” which is a serving kitchen on wheels.
The lunches and drinks are handed out near the playground at the park, located on Madera Street.
Interested persons may sign-up to volunteer online at WaukeshaSalvationArmy.org. Donations to support the nutrition program are needed continually.
The 501c(3) charity’s annual budget is over $1.5-million for programs to meet human needs in Waukesha County, including:
- Operating the largest homeless shelter for men in Waukesha County;
- Operating a large food pantry;
- Providing hundreds of free hot evening meals weekly in its dining hall, on Tues, Thurs and Sat;
- Distributing tens of thousands of donated bakery items and loaves of bread to the poor;
- Providing free backpacks of weekend meal food-- for families-- distributed through school;
- Operating a popular Summer Day Camp program through its Youth Ministry;
- Offering varied programs to provide emergency help with prescriptions, utilities, and clothing;
- At Christmas, managing a family “Toy Shop” so children in disadvantaged families can enjoy gifts;
- Producing a series of annual community Christmas Concerts in mid-December; and much more
This is the Waukesha County Salvation Army’s 125th year locally, with a week of events to mark the anniversary during the final week of April and the first week of May.
More information about a special eight-week historical exhibit at the Waukesha County Museum, a free-will offering concert by the renowned Chicago Staff Band of The Salvation Army’s Midwest Territory, and a fun and family-friendly 5K/2mi run-walk, is available at WaukeshaSalvationArmy.org
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. The Salvation Army was founded in London, England in 1865.