Selbyville library seeks help with lunch program starting June 14

The Selbyville Public Library will begin its community lunch program at 12 p.m., Monday, June 14.

This year, the library is welcoming community involvement. Many people were looking for ways to connect with others and to do some good in their communities last year, so they offered to help with the library’s lunch program. Those contributions made the program more successful than the organizers could have imagined.

Last year’s program distributed 1,732 lunches, an increase of more than 250 percent from 2019 when 469 lunches were distributed.

Volunteer groups that helped make so many lunches possible last year included school honor society members, restaurants and churches. The Boys & Girls Club provided USDA -funded lunches, filling in the gaps if volunteers were not providing meals on a particular day.

Supporters can contribute full lunches, prepackaged lunch components or financial donations.

Kelly Kline, Selbyville Public Library director, said, “We are looking for foods that are healthy and fun, and we can always use items like bottled water. While you can’t make sandwiches in your home kitchen, if you are functioning in a commercial kitchen setting, then you can prepare food and bring it in. Otherwise, it will need to be prepackaged foods.”

Meals are available to everyone 18 and younger, and this year, they are being served grab-and-go style. The program itself is meant to offer convenience and ease for parents during the summer months as well as help bridge the gaps created by the end of the school year for those in need.

Library staff will hand out lunches each day until they are gone. To help contribute or become involved, call the Selbyville Public Library at 302-436-8195 and ask for Kelly Kline or Megan Bunting, or email kelly.kline@lib.de.us or megan.bunting@lib.de.us.