Project Bread, Rep. McGovern, Sec. Tutwiler & DESE Comm. Martinez Visit Meal Sites on Summer Food Tour

GREENFIELD/ORANGE/BOSTON, Mass. – On Friday, August 1, Project Bread, the state’s leading food security organization, and Congressman Jim McGovern, U.S. Representative, Massachusetts 2nd Congressional District, visited meal sites in Greenfield and Orange during the 11th annual Summer Food Rocks Tour. They stopped at a Summer Eats lunch location at Greenfield High School followed by a second lunch stop at the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School in Orange.

Led by McGovern and Jennifer Lemmerman, Chief Policy Officer at Project Bread, the tour emphasized the importance of Summer Eats to bring free meals to children and families while students are out of school, as well as SUN Bucks (Summer EBT), additional funds for groceries during the summer. Accompanying the tour were Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, Ph.D, Secretary of Massachusetts Executive Office of Education, Massachusetts Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez, and local officials.

“Programs like Summer Eats show what’s possible when we prioritize kids and families,” says Lemmerman. “These are meals kids count on, served in welcoming, familiar spaces by trusted staff from schools, rec departments, and community organizations. At Project Bread, we believe hunger is a policy choice. And while at the federal level, we’re seeing harmful choices like SNAP cuts, child nutrition under threat, and barriers to Medicaid, Massachusetts is charting a different course. Thanks to leadership from advocates and our legislative and administrative partners, universal school meals are permanent here, and as a result, 103,000 more students ate school lunch this past October compared to before the pandemic. That’s progress. That’s policy making a difference.”

In Greenfield, children spun a prize wheel for Summer Eats swag, while enjoying hot dogs with peaches and a cucumber & cherry tomato salad. Families were able to take home extra food for the weekend with Greenfield’s grab & go service. In Orange, children and adults lined up in the Ralph C. Mahar cafeteria for crispy baked drumsticks with assorted sauces, fresh corn on the cob, homemade pasta salad, veggie dippers and fresh melon wedges. Thanks to a grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the school is able to cover the cost of parent and guardian meals while their children eat. Kids enjoyed yard games like ring toss and cornhole.

Orange Food Service Director Katrina Bressani shared their local successes through the Summer Eats Program. “This summer, we were proud to offer fresh, locally sourced, scratch-made meals with care and creativity to all children and teens in our community,” says Bressani. “We were fortunate to also be able to offer options, including grab-and-go and adult meals, that create a unique community dining experience—one that stands apart from any program I’ve led in the past.”

“Summer meal programs like the ones we saw in Greenfield and Orange are a lifeline for families,” says Congressman McGovern. “They help make sure kids—and with innovative models like the one we visited in Orange, their adult caregivers—don’t go hungry when school is out. These programs reflect the best of what our government can do when it works to make things better for everyday people. At a time when Republicans in Congress are trying to gut food programs to give tax breaks to billionaires, I’m focused on protecting summer meals programs that prevent children from going hungry. I’m grateful to Project Bread, DESE, and our local partners for leading the way—and I’ll keep fighting to make sure these programs get the full support they deserve.”

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration made free school meals permanent across the state. But students shouldn’t miss out on healthy food just because school isn’t in session,” says Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “We know families’ grocery bills increase in the summer when kids do not have access to school meals. That’s why programs like Summer Eats are so vital, providing kids with nutritious food whether they’re at camp, a park or their local school. Summer Eats is one of the ways the administration is working to address childhood food insecurity, and we are so grateful to partners in this work like Congressman McGovern and Project Bread.”

"It was wonderful to see - and taste! - the delicious, nutritious food that school districts and community organizations are providing to children through Summer Eats," says Massachusetts Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez. "I'm grateful to Project Bread for their outreach work and for their advocacy in this area. It's critical to keep nutrition funds and farm-to-school funds flowing to families and schools if we want to give our students the strongest start possible."

In Massachusetts, 1 in 5 households with children are currently facing food insecurity. Summer Eats, the Massachusetts Summer Food Service Program, provides free meals to children and teens in communities across the state to ensure they continue growing, learning, and thriving over school vacation. Meals are administered by sponsors in coordination with DESE and activities and educational programming are often offered for children eating onsite.

For more than 20 years, Project Bread has worked in partnership with DESE to provide youth with access to Summer Eats across the state. All children or teens 18 and younger can eat at hundreds of sites statewide for free. No registration or ID is required. This year, Project Bread has granted a total of $236,482 to Summer Eats sponsors statewide for their program development and capacity-building, such as equipment to transport meals or increase kitchen efficiency and meal quality, as well as staffing support and items to enhance site engagement, outreach and promotion efforts. In 2024, more than 2.8 million meals were served across over 1,450 sites statewide through the Summer Eats program. Another summer food resource is SUN Bucks (Summer EBT), which is a federal food benefit providing additional funding for groceries for low-income families with school-aged children.
Summer is better with full bellies and big smiles. For more information about Summer Eats meal sites and SUN Bucks, visit www.projectbread.org/summer-eats, text FOOD or COMIDA to 304-304, or call 1-800-645-8333 for help in any language.

About Project Bread
Project Bread connects people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessible—so that no one goes hungry. Summer Eats is one of the many nutrition programs they support. Any resident of Massachusetts struggling to afford food or worrying they might run out before they have money to buy more can call Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline for help in 180+ languages (1-800-645-8333) or send a confidential chat on www.gettingsnap.com for compassionate, personalized assistance. Counselors are available Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is also a dedicated line available to those who are hearing impaired. For more information, visit: www.projectbread.org.

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