Goshen Health Launches Free Summer Programs to Fight Weekend Hunger and Educate Families

This summer, hundreds of local children won’t have to worry about their next meal. Goshen Health is once again offering free frozen backpack meals along with their Summer Health Lunch Bunch education program to support families and improve community health.

In partnership with Cultivate Food Rescue, Goshen Health will distribute approximately 150 frozen backpack meals every Friday starting the week of June 2 through July 18 (excluding the week of June 30). The meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at three Summer Health Lunch Bunch locations across Goshen. Each backpack contains six nutritionally balanced, ready-to-eat meals — enough to help families fill the weekend meal gap and ease food insecurity for hundreds of area youth.

Now in its seventh year, the Summer Health Lunch Bunch program brings health education directly to children and families at targeted summer feeding sites in Goshen and Warsaw. Since its launch in 2018, more than 11,500 students have participated in the program, which combines free meals with hands-on learning to promote healthier lifestyles in Elkhart County and beyond.

“This is more than just a meal program — it’s a lifeline for families and a long-term investment in our community’s well-being,” said Randy Christophel, Goshen Health President and Chief Executive Officer. “By providing both food and knowledge, we’re helping to build a healthier, stronger future.”

Summer Health Lunch Bunch and backpack meal sites are hosted in collaboration with Goshen and Warsaw school systems, along with community partners including the Center for Healing & Hope, Cultivate Food Rescue, Goshen Farmers Market, Live Well Kosciusko, and Purdue Extension of Elkhart County.

Families can find site locations and program details at: https://goshenhealth.com/programs/summer-health-lunch-bunch.