{"id":19546,"date":"2026-09-19T06:57:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T06:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/19546\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T06:57:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T06:57:43","slug":"free-kids-meals-available-at-select-kdl-branches-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/19546\/","title":{"rendered":"Free kids’ meals available at select KDL branches this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

KENTWOOD, Mich. \u2014 Kids and teens can pick up free meals Monday through Friday at select Kent District Library branches through September 1st as part of the Sack Suppers program from Kids Food Basket.<\/p>\n

The program is available at the Kentwood, Wyoming and Kelloggsville branches. Times food is served are listed at the bottom of this article.<\/p>\n

For some families, summer fun doesn’t eliminate the stress of making sure kids are fed. The Sack Suppers program aims to fill that gap.<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/p>\n

WXMI<\/p>\n

Kids Food Basket serves over 30 meals at each library branch.<\/p>\n

Liz Larson, a Kentwood neighbor, said the program has been a game changer during the school year and into the summer.<\/p>\n

“It’s super helpful when he would get home from school, or even in the summer, just to know that, like, a snack or a meal is provided for them. That’s not something that I need to go out of my way to get,” Larson said.<\/p>\n

\"Kentwood<\/p>\n

WXMI<\/p>\n

Richard L. Root library is one of the three locations for the food program. <\/p>\n

Miguel Morales, with Kids Food Basket, said feeding kids during the months between the school year is a priority.<\/p>\n

“People need food. I think that’s the most important thing, especially kids, the kids that we help they’re the most vulnerable population, so we want to be able to support them,” Morales said.<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/p>\n

WXMI<\/p>\n

The Sack Supper meal program with Kids Food Basket is provided at select KDL libraries. <\/p>\n

Morales said libraries are a natural fit for the program.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s important to try to meet kids where they’re at. We know libraries are a community space, many use these spaces to kind of escape the heat in the summer,” Morales said.<\/p>\n

WATCH: Free summer meals for kids and teens available at select Kent District Library branches through Sept. 1st<\/p>\n

Free summer meals for kids and teens available at select Kent District Library branches through Sept. 1st<\/p>\n

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, more than 40,000 kids in West Michigan experience food insecurity.<\/p>\n

Morales said the need is especially acute in summer.<\/p>\n

“It’s very important because a lot of those kids rely on that food during the school year. Many families rely on breakfast and lunch provided by the schools,” Morales said.<\/p>\n

\"Lunch<\/p>\n

WXMI<\/p>\n

The sack meals are being provided by Kids Food Basket. <\/p>\n

Another mom, LaDor\u00edan Johnson said the quality of the food for her two children matters.<\/p>\n

“They eat a lot, especially the baby. They love snacking, and I like that there are healthier snacks for them, instead of just like sugary snacks,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Larson said the program lifts a real burden for parents.<\/p>\n

“It’s just a tremendous help for parents and kids that can have nutritious meals and not have to worry about where you’re going to find your next meal, so it’s very helpful,” Larson said.<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/p>\n

WXMI<\/p>\n

The sack meals include a vegetable and protein in each pack. <\/p>\n

You can find the days and times for the meal services here:<\/p>\n

Kelloggsville\u00a0Branch (inside\u00a0Kelloggsville\u00a0High School)
4787 Division Ave. S,Grand Rapids, MI 49548
Monday\u2013Thursday at 4:30 PM<\/p>\n

Kentwood\u00a0(Richard L. Root)\u00a0Branch, 4950 Breton SE, Kentwood, MI 49508
Monday\u2013Friday at 3:00 PM<\/p>\n

Wyoming Branch, 3350 Michael Ave. SW, Wyoming, MI 49509
Monday\u2013Friday at 4:30 PM<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Follow FOX 17: Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – YouTube<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KENTWOOD, Mich. \u2014 Kids and teens can pick up free meals Monday through Friday at select Kent District Library branches through September 1st as part of the Sack Suppers program from Kids Food Basket. The program is available at the Kentwood, Wyoming and Kelloggsville branches. Times food is served are listed at the bottom of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[17856,17857,15427,18280,1403,6720,6718,6716,6719,6717],"class_list":["post-19546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wyoming","tag-fox-17","tag-fox-17-news","tag-kent","tag-kent-county","tag-michigan","tag-wyoming","tag-wyoming-dining","tag-wyoming-food","tag-wyoming-grocery-stores","tag-wyoming-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117296407751676384","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}