PHILABUNDANCE, THE GIANT COMPANY KICK OFF 2025 SUMMER LUNCHBOX PROGRAM

June 16, 2025
9:43 am

Two chefs in white coats prepare rows of black trays of meals while the Philabundance mascot which is a purple and black cartoonish beet looks on — Philabundance Community Kitchen prepares meals for the 2025 Summer LunchBox Program.

When school pauses for the summer, school-provided lunches pause with it. Philabundance and The GIANT Company fill that gap for children in Philabundance’s nine-county service area through the Summer LunchBox Program. This year, the program runs the entire 10-week span of summer, June 17 – Aug. 22.

Together, Philabundance and The GIANT Company will provide up to 40,000 free, fresh, and ready-to-eat lunches; 20,000 pantry-friendly breakfast kits; and 10,000 “Rainy Day” frozen breakfasts, made by Philabundance Community Kitchen and available at any of Philabundance’s youth-serving community partners in its nine-county service area. A list of participating partners is included below.

“For tens of thousands of children across the Greater Philadelphia region, summer vacation is not just a break from school, but also a break from the reliability of school meals,” said Loree D. Jones Brown, CEO, Philabundance. “Our children should go to bed tired out from summer fun, not from hunger. Thanks to generous funding from our valued corporate partner The GIANT Company and other partnerships, Philabundance will continue to help fill the summer meal gap through our LunchBox program, an important addition to our year-round efforts providing food for those in need, and their children.”

LunchBox meals are prepared by students at PCK, a culinary job training program for adults with low to no income. Most meals will be fresh, while others are shelf-stable or frozen for later preparation. Each week, these free and nutritious meals with items like wraps, salads, fruits, vegetables, and milk will be distributed through 25 of Philabundance’s community partners: