A St. Louis County Library summer food program is aiming to give many St. Louisans relief toward their grocery bill.
The library has partnered with Operation Food Search to provide 50 free boxes of fresh produce every Thursday at its Florissant Valley, Lewis and Clark, and Weber Road branches. Each box contains 10-12 pounds of produce.
Kristen Sorth, the director and CEO of the library, said having access to fresh produce is crucial for a healthy lifestyle.
“We know that there are many food deserts in the St. Louis region,” Sorth said. “There is food insecurity that exists throughout the region. This is just one more way to make sure that people can get a healthy meal.”
This is the second year the library has partnered with Operation Food Search.
Brooklyn Swyers, the manager of child nutrition programs at Operation Food Search, said the program is meeting a need as the cost of groceries continues to increase.
“Summer tends to be the highest need for families,” Swyers said. “While school is out, they’re not able to access those free school lunches and so by having access to this free resource, that allows them to continue to lead a healthy lifestyle and be able to save some money at the grocery store as well.”
Residents are encouraged to arrive at 8:30 a.m. to get one of the first come, first served boxes. The boxes were so popular last year, Sorth said, that they ran out quickly.
“There were people lined up at our branches before we opened waiting to get a produce box,” Sorth said.
The library also provides a free lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday for those 18 and younger at nine of its branches.
The free fresh produce box program runs from July 6 to Aug. 3.
