Programs for Children

Information below may not be current. For changes in any program hours or operations due to COVID-19, please click here.

People who are unable to leave their homes for groceries can send a proxy to a pantry to pick up food on their behalf.

a child with long red hair and an orange shirt receives lunch
Summer Food Program
Cereal for Youth
Children’s Weekend Snack Pack

School meals available while school is out due to closures, March 2020

Oregon has one of the highest child hunger rates in the nation

Child nutrition is important to every child’s emotional, physical and mental health. Children depend on nutrients to nourish their bodies, provide energy to grow and facilitate cognitive development. FOOD for Lane County manages three programs that provide Lane County children with the food they need to feel healthy and succeed in school.

Summer Food Program

Two children stand near a table with paper bag lunches
We invite all children and youth age 18 and younger to eat lunch for free during the summer months. Volunteers serve meals at schools, parks and community centers located throughout Lane County. Each summer, FFLC serves thousands of lunches and breakfasts to children through the Summer Food Program.

Listen to a radio interview with Programs and Services Manager, Roz Fox, about the Summer Food Program:

 

Summer Food will return in the summer of 2020!

Guidelines:

  • No registration is required.
  • Children ages 1-2 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
  • We cannot provide food for parents or guardians, but we do invite you to bring your own food and eat with your kids.
  • All food must be eaten on site.

Cereal for Youth


Cereal for Youth provides nutritious cereal to children and teens throughout Lane County. Schools and youth programs are active participants in this program. They request cereal from FFLC and distribute it to students for breakfast, as a school-day snack or to take home as an afternoon or weekend snack. We distribute hundreds of thousands of healthy snacks through Cereal for Youth each year.

Children’s Weekend Snack Pack

a young person holds a small bag of cereal, his back to a concrete wall
The Children’s Weekend Snack Pack program provides school-age children in Lane County with two gallon-size bags of easy-to-prepare, nonperishable food to eat on weekends or during school vacations.

As of 2017, three Springfield elementary schools are participating in the program: Maple, Riverbend, and Douglas Gardens. Umpqua Bank leads the fundraising effort and provides volunteers for the program.

For more information about Cereal for Youth or Children’s Weekend Snack Pack, please contact Karen Roth at (541) 343-2822 or email here.