CVCCS plans Summer Lunch Club

"We are anticipating (the Summer Lunch Club) to be a much bigger undertaking (this year)," said Johnathan Barrett, executive director of Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services (CVCCS). According to Barrett, under the direction of coordinator Emma Arnold, the club runs like a "well-oiled machine." "Emma is amazing," said Barrett. "She has a plan and she's very organized." Although the program operates smoothly, the need for volunteers, the increase in the number of lunches needed, and the costs of food items will present challenges this year.

Summer Lunch Club provides lunches for children in the Conestoga Valley School District (CVSD) to enjoy on-site or take home. This year, the program will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at three locations. On Tuesdays, one individual lunch per child - age 18 and under - will be provided. On Thursdays, two lunches will be given out. CVCCS administers the program by working with partner churches, which each host a lunch site. Mellinger Mennonite Church on Lincoln Highway will be a new site this year. As in the past, Faith Church will oversee the Flory Park site, and Lancaster Alliance Church will hand out lunches to children at a location at Country Club Apartments. Meals will be available beginning Tuesday, June 13, through Thursday, Aug. 10.

Initial lunch preparations will be based on last year's numbers, according to Barrett. "Flory and Country Club are really well attended, and it could be 20 to 40 at the start and up to 60 per serving later in the summer," he said. The program is no longer government-funded, so Barrett raises money to cover the costs of meals by adding a special Summer Lunch Club graphic to the CVCCS' home page at http://cvccs.org. Clicking on the graphic offers the option of donating a specific number of meals to the cause. Barrett has raised enough to cover more than 2,000 of the approximately 3,000 meals to be distributed.

On this year's Lunch Club menu are walking tacos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and pasta dishes. "After 12:30, if there's food left parents may partake," said Barrett, who added that while information about food allergens will be provided, special dietary requests cannot be accommodated.

About 10 volunteers per lunch day are needed to help prepare and pack lunches at CVCCS prior to delivery and to deliver them to the Lunch Club sites. "(Volunteers are needed) each Tuesday and Thursday for a few hours, usually 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.," said Barrett. "We always need volunteers."

CVCCS, located at 2420 Gehman Lane, Lancaster, is a nonprofit social service organization founded in 2010 by the Conestoga Valley Ministerium. Readers who are interested in volunteering may call 717-208-3711. For more information about the organization and its programs, visit the aforementioned website.