North Hills Cares’ free summer lunch program is entering its sixth year.

The program is open for kids up to age 18 and is operated out of North Hills United Presbyterian Church on Bellevue Avenue in West View. North Hills Cares runs the program in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The local nonprofit began as a group of women trying to channel their energy for volunteering into something that could help a whole community.

“We started out by saying we wanted to serve kids and families in our local area,” executive director Lynne Sciulli said, and they met with North Hills School District personnel to talk about how to meet people’s basic needs.

“Our main goal was to remove barriers to education.” Sciulli explained. “We were surprised to learn through discussions with the school district that the biggest barrier for those kids was food insecurity.”

Many families rely on breakfasts and lunches that students receive during the school year to provide much-needed nutrition. When school lets out for the summer, those families stand to lose 10 meals a week per child for three months.

The national summer lunch programs are designed to close that gap, while also serving to keep kids in a social environment, provide a break for caregivers and encourage healthy eating.

North Hills Cares provides free summer lunch programs in West View, Etna, Millvale and Bellevue. Over the past five years, the organization has served more than 45,000 meals, and Sciulli expects the number to climb as the organization expands to other areas.

“Our program differentiates itself through the quality of the food and a commitment to fresh produce,” she said. “We also incorporate activities and experiences to make coming to lunch an enjoyable part of the families’ weekdays all summer.”

North Hills Cares recently received a national Gold Award from the USDA’s Turnip the Beet program, which recognizes lunch programs across the nation for outstanding performance. The nonprofit also was one of 55 USDA Gold Award Winners in 2023, and one of only two in Pennsylvania.

“We are able to provide the best quality food because we don’t have any other expenses,” Sciulli said. “We don’t have any paid employees in our organization. We don’t have any overhead. The full reimbursement the organization receives from the state goes toward the quality of the meal.”

A typical day in the summer lunch program starts at 9 a.m. for volunteers. From 9 to 11:30, they prepare the meals that will be served that day. The latter part of the volunteer hours are dedicated to brown bagging lunches for volunteer delivery drivers to take to the other areas that North Hills Cares services.

From 11:30 to 1 p.m., meals are served at the North Hills United Presbyterian Church. During the pandemic, the organization operated a drive-thru service to keep supplying the community with meals.

“To continue our success,” Sciulli said, “we need to make sure that eligible families are aware of the available meals.”

Just as importantly, North Hills Cares seeks volunteers to help the organization make up to 200 meals every weekday.

The program runs Monday through Friday from June 3 to Aug. 16. Information about registration and volunteering is available at www.northhillscares.com or the North Hills Cares Facebook page.

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