TAMPA, Fla. — When school lets out for the summer, thousands of children go without school lunches, and families often struggle to find childcare. To help fill this gap, Feeding Tampa Bay hosted its first annual Build Your Summer Tool Kit event.
The event provides families with food, supplies, bike safety courses, and information on swim lessons.
Rachelle Thompson, senior director of neighbor experience for Feeding Tampa Bay, said the organization noticed a need for increased resources during the summer months.
"There was a gap in the summer where families were needing an increase in availability of resources, so we decided to try and put an event together that brought those exact resources together in one place," Thompson said.
For every bag of food handed out, families like Adis Avila and her grandchildren, 8-year-old Andy and 5-year-old Amelia, feel the difference.
"It means a lot because it's a lot of help for the summertime, where it's the most difficult for the children to be home, how things are so expensive to do," Avila said.
Avila said the event provides essential information for her family.
"It's a nice resource to be able to know where to go, where to take them, what's offered out there," Avila said.
The event also gives children something to look forward to during the summer break.
"Today is gonna be the best day of my life. I just feel wonderful," Andy said.
The resources offered at Feeding Tampa Bay are available year-round. More information can be found on their website.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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