The Santa Clara County Library District understands that childhood hunger runs rampant in the summertime, when school is out of session and kids do not have access to free or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch. The need has been compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, with many individuals and families out of work and unable to buy groceries. According to Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley, more than 500,000 people in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties needed help in April, an 85% increase since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. SCCLD launched the Lunch at the Library program in 2019 and continued it in 2020 and 2021, during pandemic times under the name Grab ‘n Go.
The Santa Clara County Library District Foundation (SCCLDF) has supported this program from the inception. Thanks to amazing teamwork and community partnerships, the SCCLD Lunch at the Library program has distributed over 14,000 meals during the 2021 summer.
In 2024, the Lunch at the Library program at the Gilroy Library served 2,071 meals and in Morgan Hill Library 3,171 meals were served.
Following the lunch, patrons were invited to stay for enrichment programming, such as arts & crafts, games, and special presentations. A total of 9,600 people attended the enrichment programs.
SCCLDF also sponsored 8 summer interns who helped with this program at the two libraries.
At Morgan Hill and Gilroy Libraries, pre-packaged grab-and-go meals were distributed for children ages 2-18 and their caregivers. Meal pick-up was available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday safely from the library parking lots with 5,240 served in Gilroy and 8,793 served in Morgan Hill. Library staff also provided take home activities with the meals, and 600 youth received summer reading prize books. The SCCLD Foundation specifically supported the SCCLD intern program that gives teens opportunities to help in this important work. In addition, the District received funding from the California State Library to bring enrichment activities and 610 take home activity kits to eight community meal distribution sites.
2019 Lunch at the Library
Enjoy this slideshow below of our popular Lunch at the Library program from 2019 summer. Not only did kids get a nutritious lunch, but educational shows and activities were provided in partnership with the Silicon Valley YMCA and Second Harvest Food Bank. The fun took place with the Bookmobile at Gwinn School in San Martin and at the Morgan Hill and Gilroy libraries.
