Fueling Young Minds

For seven consecutive years, Hunger Task Force and Harley-Davidson Foundation have teamed up to run the Fueling Young Minds summer meals program. Fueling Young Minds has become a summer tradition in Milwaukee County, providing FREE meals to kids under 18 every weekday until the end of August. In 2005, Fueling Young Minds was awarded the United States Department of Agriculture’s Summer Sunshine Award, and continues to be recognized as summer meals model for other communities to replicate.

Fueling Young Minds is unique because meal sites are set up in schools and recreation centers, and staff supervise kids while they eat safe and healthy meals throughout the summer. In 2009, Fueling Young Minds continued its storied, community-wide tradition of feeding Milwaukee’s youth:

• Over 1.5 million meals and snacks were served
• 198 meal sites stretched across Milwaukee County
• Community partners included Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Center for Independence, Boys & Girls Clubs, the Social Development Commission and the Salvation Army
• Hundreds of volunteers participated in an outreach campaign so families knew where meal sites were located

There is no paperwork or registration required for
Fueling Young Minds—all children are welcome! To find the nearest meal site location, parents and students can simply dial 211 from a landline phone or (866)-211-3380 from a cell phone. And keep an eye out for those orange meal site signs—they point the way to a healthy summer for Milwaukee’s kids!

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity to create awareness of this program, we have a couple options. They're great activites to do with a friend or your kid(s)!

• canvassing neighborhoods placing door hangers announcing the nearest Summer Meals site
• conducting meal surveys on site

If you are interested and would like to know more, please contact our organizer, Mary Ryan.