CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)- Many families rely on school meals to provide nourishment to their children. But what happens when the school year ends?

According to data from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap, one in seven children face food insecurity in Virginia. 

That is why the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is operating the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program in our area. BRAFB will be preparing fruit, vegetables, snacks, and dishes rich in protein for breakfast and lunch free of charge to several programs across the region, like churches, summer school programs, and recreation programs like the Boys and Girls Clubs.   

Across 25 counties, the Food Bank projects it will be serving 550 kids throughout the duration of the program.  Many of the counties in which food insecurity is the most pervasive come from rural counties in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area. 

Some distribution sites may require registration in a particular program being run at the site, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs. 

Others are rural non-congregate meal sites that do not require kids to be involved in a program, providing five breakfasts and five suppers to-go from May 26 through early August, 2026.