According to Johnathan Barrett, executive director of Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services (CVCCS), the Summer Lunch Club program the organization oversees annually in the Conestoga Valley School District (CVSD) runs like a "well-oiled machine."

The program, under the direction of coordinator Emma Arnold, provides lunches for children to enjoy on-site or take home. It operates at four locations on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CVCCS administers the program by working with partner churches, which each host a lunch site. Breakout Ministries holds the club at its place of worship in Leola, and Faith Church oversees the Flory Park site, with Lancaster Alliance Church delivering lunches to a location at Country Club Apartments and Worship Center hosting the West Earl Community Park lunch club. Meals will be available beginning Monday, June 13, through Thursday, Aug. 11.

Because the program is no longer government-funded, Barrett is working to raise the funds needed to cover the cost of meals, which run about $5 each. Barrett has raised enough to cover nearly 900 of the approximately 1,500 meals distributed each summer. Efforts have included adding a special Summer Lunch Club graphic to CVCCS' home page at http://cvccs.org. Clicking on the graphic offers the option of donating a specific number of meals to the cause. "People have been very generous," said Barrett, who added that he has seen donors share the link to social media.

Barrett explained that meals are designated first for CVSD students age 18 and under. "Parents are very important to us, too," said Barrett, noting that once all students at a site have received lunches, meals may be distributed to parents. "We always send extras," said Barrett, who noted that peanut butter and jelly is sent to each club location and that site supervisors count the number of lunches distributed for food planning and preparation purposes.

For 2022, Barrett created a new logo for the club featuring a graphic of the sun and a playground swing. "It now has an inviting image," he said, noting that the name Summer Lunch Club was chosen for its friendly appeal to children.