We see a lot of kids who spend all day at the library, every day, because they don’t have safe places to go and their parents aren’t home (in addition to other circumstances in many cases). The library is always a safe place, but the problem becomes when they are here from immediately after school until we close at 9:00 p.m. because before this program started, they weren’t getting anything to eat in all those hours. It really affects the library in a lot of ways because when kids are hungry, they act out.
We serve this meal 5 days a week, and it varies from 30 to 60 kids each day. Occasionally we even have families come in and ask if they can take some home because they don’t have food for dinner that night, or they might not have anything to pack for their kids for lunch the next day.
Providing this program has been the single most important thing we’ve done at the library. Feeding kids has made an incredible difference in their behavior and the amount of homework they’re getting done, and in creating a community space where people can come in and feel safe and comfortable.
