By Jessica Hoover
Several community organizations have partnered to conduct a Pack the Cruiser event, which will provide breakfast and lunch for Westfield students this summer. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1 at Kroger, 150 W 161st St.
Students who are enrolled in the free-and-reduced-lunch program at Westfield Washington Schools are eligible to sign up for the Summer Meals Program.
“Many of these kids will go without food during the summer because the schools are the only resource they have to eat,” said Danielle Carey Tolan, Westfield Washington Township trustee. “We already have approximately 88 families signed up.”
During the Pack the Cruiser event, people can purchase food items and drop them off outside to be packed into a police cruiser. Kroger gift cards and monetary donations to purchase perishable food also are accepted donation items.
“(Pack the Cruiser) is so much fun,” Carey Tolan said. “Cops are such role models to young kids, and they get to put the bags in the cruiser and they get to see the cruiser and see the cop dressed up in their uniform.”
Drop-off donations can be made at Westfield City Services, Student Impact or Westfield Washington Township before the event and into the summer. Food items needed include applesauce, soups, canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal and granola bars. For a full list, visit westfieldwashingtontwp.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=39.
After collecting the donations, volunteers will pack and distribute the food on a weekly basis to families enrolled in the Summer Meals Program. Community partners include Sodexo Food Service, Student Impact, Westfield Police Department, Westfield Washington Schools, Westfield Washington Township and the Westfield Youth Assistance Program.
