The Knoxville Food Youth Initiative summer meals program will start on Monday.

Pickup days will be Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays at Knoxville High School from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, the Melcher-Dallas Public Library from Noon-12:30 pm, Bussey City Hall from Noon-1:00 pm, and the Pleasantville UMC community building from 11:30am – 12:30 pm. New this year to the summer meals program is Pella which will provide meals at the public library on Thursdays from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. 

All children up to age 18 are eligible for meals, and there is no enrollment or sign up. You will just need to provide the number of children in your household that you are picking up for each time you pick up. Parents and legal guardians are eligible to pick up meals for children, and also eligible this year are siblings and grandparents. Verlin Goodyk with the Knoxville Food Youth Initiative says this program continues to grow. 

“We keep seeing growth. Last summer was by far our biggest summer so far. We fed 89,000 meals last summer which is a lot of meals. There again we’re able to put food on people’s tables who normally wouldn’t have food as quickly.”

Menus are posted on Facebook each Sunday prior to the start of the week. The program will run until August 4th. Hear more from Goodyk about the summer meals program on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.