NH Hunger Solutions, Elliot Hospital and Manchester Library team up to feed meals to kids

MANCHESTER, NH – The Winchell Room in the Manchester City Library on Pine Street, usually reserved for book sales and other functions, has found a new usage: feeding hungry children. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12  to 12:30 p.m. parents are invited to bring their children to the Winchell Room on the library’s bottom floor to receive a free meal for a child. No proof of residency or proof of income is required.

The project came about as a result of the work master’s candidate Sherisse Salter of SNHU has been doing with New Hampshire Hunger Solutions. NHHS is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating hunger in New Hampshire. Among those are school children, some of whom are not participating in school breakfast. Others, due to a variety of circumstances, had to utilize a food bank on school grounds just to have something to eat.

“Some of the work I’ve been doing this summer has been to feed children this summer,” Salter said. “Fifty to sixty percent of Manchester students qualify for free or reduced lunches during the school year. In the summer months, they don’t have access to those meals. It makes them vulnerable to hunger.”

The library was chosen as a place to hand out food due to its perception, in Salter’s words, as a “trusted community resource for families.” The food itself is prepared by the Manchester School District and funded by contributions from the Elliot Hospital.

“We are helping with the free summer food programs,” said Dori Eisenstat, the teen librarian at the Manchester City Library. “It’s nice for them to have a place where they can get some free meals over the summer.”

“People are happy, thankful, and surprised,” Salter said. “Our biggest challenge is getting the word out that it’s happening. Any child under 18 can come and get a free meal while supplies last.”

Other food resources: