“The best way to make it happen is to just get started,” said John Barber, CEO of the Jamestown, NY YMCA, as he reflected on how his organization prioritized free summer meals for kids. Barber is encouraging other community organizations across the United States to provide grab-and-go meals for kids during the summer months, when the school meals that families rely on are not available.
“We served around 5,000 meals the first summer, using a camp kitchen that we happened to have, and a few coolers,” Barber said. “After that first year, we saw the demand, and we've grown to approximately 40,000 meals last year.”
No Kid Hungry presented the Jamestown Area YMCA with the 2025 Community Partner Award in recognition of their work fighting childhood hunger in the state of New York. Founded in 1858, the Jamestown YMCA is the oldest nonprofit in Chautauqua County with a long history of supporting youth and families.
Jamestown was once a thriving manufacturing hub nicknamed the “Furniture Capital of the World” in the 20th century for its signature industry. But today, according to the US Census Bureau, nearly 25% of Jamestown residents live in poverty.
“Some of the things that have affected economies across the country are certainly affecting Jamestown,” said Barber. “So while we also live in a community that is full of strong, great people, many of them are dealing with hardship.”
The Impact of Grab-and-Go Meals
Earlier rules of summer meals programs required families to travel to central locations for sit-down meals. This created a lot of barriers for families who were working or didn't have transportation. The pandemic changed everything allowing flexible models like grab-and-go meals, which are now permanent in rural areas like Jamestown. The YMCA knew the difference it would make on families, so they jumped on the opportunity.
“Families can just come up and tell me how many meals they need for their family and how many kids they have, and I can hand them their meals,” said Jazmyn Rollinger-Norr, a team member who packs and distributes meals daily at one of the YMCA’s seven distribution sites around the county.
For Jordan Spence, a mom of three, the grab-and-go meals help her and her husband manage demanding work schedules and a tight budget as food costs rise. “I only have a half-hour lunch break, so it's not like I have a lot of time to sit and wait for my kids to finish eating, and then get back to work,” Spence said.
“Your grocery bills can be upwards of $200 and you're only getting 15 items,” Spence added. “I don't want to have to worry about what I need to feed my kids, but I do. It's always a plus for us to have this service, to be able to get free lunches. I know that there's a meal that they won't miss.”
Spence’s two older children, 8-year-old Elena and 5-year-old Ethan, have no intention of missing the meals either. They especially look forward to the lunches. “When I get the meals, my favorite one is the pizza,” said Elena. “They are healthy and it makes me stronger. When I eat those meals, I feel good about myself. I feel like I can do anything.”
Ethan added with a smile, “I have enough energy when I eat my meal. Thank you for the summer meals.”
Since 2019, the Jamestown Area YMCA has received more than $80,000 in grants from No Kid Hungry to help expand the reach of its summer meals program. Grant funds have helped the YMCA purchase delivery vans and kitchen equipment, as well as cover staffing and marketing costs for its growing network of meal drop-off sites.
“Changes in the USDA practices allowed us to bring more meals to rural communities,” said Barber. “In addition, we're able to not just provide one meal—a lunch—we're actually able to provide, in our case, a breakfast and a lunch for that family. We generally have seen that our meals served increase by a third to maybe even as much as 50% at sites when we're able to serve grab-and-go, which means that we're distributing more meals to more kids.”
Summer EBT Helping Kids Thrive
Summer EBT programs, also known as SUN Bucks, have provided another lifeline for families seeking help in the Jamestown area. The state-sanctioned program provides $120 per child for income-eligible families during the summer season. No Kid Hungry is advocating for additional states across the country to participate.
For Joelanis Kercado-Martes, a Jamestown-area housekeeper and mom of three, the benefits are helping her ensure healthy meals for her children while also saving for their future.
“I would say to the politicians, thank you from the bottom of my heart because $1, $2, $3, $4—it’s a blessing,” Kercado-Martes said. “You know, the world is becoming very expensive. If it wasn't for the summer EBT benefits that you guys are distributing to our family, we probably would have never made it. Me and my family are grateful.”
Her 8-year-old daughter Josamilia took a break from the playground to offer her opinion. “When I eat food, I can learn better,” she said. “My favorite lunch is the pizza.”
With your support, we are working to ensure kids like Ethan, Elena and Josamilia have a summer full of learning, growing and thriving—a summer in which they don’t have to worry about being hungry. Together, we can close the childhood hunger gap during the summer and make No Kid Hungry a reality.
