Obama Foundation’s summer lunch program serves 100,000 Chicago kids

Local Lunchbox (Opens in a new tab) was founded in Chelsea, Massachusetts, by the Shah Family Foundation, an organization that supports transformative work in education, health care, and the community. 

We are thrilled to have worked together with the Shah Family Foundation to expand the program to Chicago in 2022. The program seeks to connect small food businesses with community organizations to provide meals to kids 18 and under—and it’s all paid for by the United States Department of Agriculture.

To bring this initiative to life, we team up with nonprofits, schools, and other community organizations that serve young people, connecting them with local chefs to provide delicious, healthy, and culturally-relevant meals to kids and teens.

In addition to serving meals through summer programming, we are delighted to provide free meals to Chicago youth as part of our partnership with the YMCA of Metro Chicago. Now through August, community members under 18 and under can stop by one of these Y locations (Opens in a new tab) for free breakfast and lunch provided by Local Lunchbox, in partnership with the Obama Foundation and the Shah Family Foundation. 

Since the beginning of the program we've served over 100,000 meals to youth across the city’s South and West Sides. Last summer, we served nearly 75,000 meals.

Our mission is to equip young people with the tools they need to go out and change the world for the better. In order to do that, they’ve got to have access to the fundamentals which include healthy, familiar, and delicious food. 

Let’s continue to nourish our children and help them reach for their dreams.