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According to the Aberdeen Salvation Army website, “approximately 34 percent of youth in Brown County receive free or reduced lunch during the school year. When school is out for summer break, we partner with United Way, Aberdeen Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department and Feeding South Dakota to visit local parks throughout the summer and provide approximately 120 low-income youth with a nutritious lunch each day.”
In honor of our UN pledge to advance and support the rights of women and children, we have been partnering and serving with the Salvation Army Feed the Kids Summer Meal Program since 2018. We, along with other local non-profits, choose certain weekdays during summer months to prepare a daily meal for these children. Choosing one day in each June, July and August, we prepared 200 sack lunches, which included a sandwich, chips, fruit, cookie/snack and juice. The Salvation Army trucks then travel to the different parks in Aberdeen to distribute the meals.
“We are more than happy to co-partner with the Salvation Army in aiding our families in the city of Aberdeen. We sisters, like Nano, have a great love for children and their education. We know that there are many low-income families with hungry children. This one way we can help our community,” stated Sister Myra Remily.
Relationships are made between the workers who distribute the meals and the kids who come to the parks. One worker stated, “We need to wait a few more minutes before we go to the next park, as Sally* isn’t here yet and she told me yesterday, ‘See you tomorrow.’” Sally did come a few minutes later and picked up a lunch not only for herself, but also for her brothers and sisters as well.