Free summer lunches for students at St. Luke’s Sacred Heart are being provided with help from Wells Fargo and West Side Hammer Electric.

St. Luke’s University Health Network launched the Summer Meals Program in Allentown to make sure no child goes without a nutritious lunch during summer months.

Children and teens ages 18 and younger can visit St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus, noon - 2 p.m. Monday - Friday for a free healthy meal.

The program, also offered at St. Luke’s Quakertown Campus, was created in response to the Network’s 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).

The CHNA revealed that more than 75 percent of students who live within a one-mile radius from the Sacred Heart campus in Allentown are eligible for reduced-cost or free lunches during the school year. When school lets out, these children are at risk of going hungry during the summer.

West Side Hammer Electric made a gift of $10,000 to support program enhancements and supply backpacks of food that children can take home each Friday to eat during the weekend. Luke Cunningham, President of West Side Hammer Electric and a former St. Luke’s Allentown Campus board member, was all smiles as he met some of the children receiving their lunch June 28.

Also supporting the Summer Meals Program, Wells Fargo contributed an $2,000. Wells Fargo, a partner of St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus, is committed to innovative, sustainable initiatives that meet a community need.

Children who come to campus for lunch will have access to healthier meals during the week at the hospital and in the packs they can take home for the weekend.

“It is so important to all of us at West Side Hammer Electric to know that children in our community have a safe space to gather, have a nutritious lunch, and build meaningful relationships during the summer months,” Cunningham said. “The Summer Meals Program provides an outlet for them to interact with others and make new friends while improving their overall health and well-being.”

West Side Hammer Electric is a friend to Allentown schools and students. In 2018, the business partnered with Francis D. Raub Middle School to brighten up the Allentown building at no cost to the district. More than 2,000 LED lights were installed throughout the school and gymnasium, so that students could learn and be active in a comfortable, illuminated environment.

The Summer Meals Program is in the Physicians’ Lounge on the second floor of St. Luke’s Sacred Heart. Fresh produce from local farms is available for children to take home Thursdays. Backpacks equipped with food for the weekend will be provided Fridays.