The MOW4Kids program launched in March in response to COVID-19 school closures. It was designed to deliver meals to homes of children 18 years or younger who are not able to access meal distribution sites throughout the county, and/or have difficulty accessing open food pantries. Most recently, the program expanded its reach to Clearwater in late August and now, the MOW4Kids has added two more local cities—Safety Habor and Lutz—to its route.
The program will begin to deliver food to children who are attending school from home the week of Nov. 30, to zip codes in Safety Harbor (zip codes 33759, 34695, 33761) and Lutz (zip codes 33548, 33549).
Eligible households may submit an application to receive MOW4Kids at networktoendhunger.org/mow4kids.
Here's how the MOW4Kids delivery system works:
- Deliveries will take place out of Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center in Safety Harbor and Mort Elementary School in Tampa, in partnership with the Nutrition Services and Transportation Departments at Pinellas County Schools and Hillsborough County Schools.
- Volunteers with level two background checks will help deliver Meals On Wheels for Kids on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting at 10 a.m. Volunteers will board public school buses, along with the bus driver, to then go out and deliver shelf-stable boxes of food and cold meal packs to children and families.
The program also currently serves: Clearwater, Gulfport, Lealman, and St. Petersburg in Pinellas County; Tampa (33612 and 33613) and Wimauma in Hillsborough County; Dade City in Pasco County.
If you're looking to complete a few good deeds before the holidays by lending a hand to the Meals on Wheels mission, visit networktoendhugner.org/volunteer or call (813) 344-5837. If you're unable to physically help out, a donation of $20 provides a week of meals. That'll definitely help your case for getting off the naughty list.
To receive meals delivered to your home, visit networktoendhunger.org/mow4kids or call (813) 344-5837.
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This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2020.