AGAWAM – The Agawam Lions Club is gearing up to launch their Vacation Vittles initiative, a hunger-fighting service project that seeks to help connect eligible students with meals while school is not in session.

The program, coordinated by the Agawam Lions Foundation with support from Bethany Assembly of God and St. David’s Episcopal Church, will begin on July 6 and will continue every Saturday through Aug. 31. Food distribution will take place at St. David’s Episcopal Church, located at 699 Springfield St. in Agawam, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Vacation Vittles program will provide students with non-perishable bags of food during school summer vacation.

Lori Mountain, first vice president of the Agawam Lions Club, said it is exciting to see the Vacation Vittles initiative launch. “It has been a year in the making and to know that we are only a month away from launching is very exciting,” Mountain shared.

Agawam families of pre-K students who qualify for reduced tuition or K-12 students who qualify for free or reduced meals when school is in session are eligible to participate in the Vacation Vittles program. One bag of non-perishable food items will be provided per child, meaning if one family has more than one student that qualifies for free or reduced meals, they will receive a bag for each child.

Mountain shared, “For families that need a little help, this is something we can do to bridge the food gap over the weeks of summer vacation. We are hoping that this program will help support children and families in town and have this type of assistance become and annual program.”

While the Agawam Lions Club has been able to determine that over 1,300 Agawam students are currently offered free or reduced meals, Mountain explained that pre-registration would be the best way to ensure that Vacation Vittles can plan accordingly and have supplies ready for families. “We are aware of the number of children on those assistance programs in our schools but are hoping to have those families pre-register for Vacation Vittles so we can plan accordingly,” Mountain said.

As the Agawam Lions prepares for the launch of the first year of Vacation Vittles, Mountain shared that it has been rewarding to watch it come together. “The most rewarding thing has been all of the people that have offered to help get this program launched and we certainly couldn’t do this without the help of Bethany Assembly or God and St. David’s Episcopal Church. There have been a number of individuals involved even going back a year ago when it was discussed as a potential problem we could help tackle,” Mountain said.

Mountain continued, “So many people, not just from our club, but others in town have expressed their desire to help. It’s so rewarding to see and get to know those people who are so willing to help out.”

To ensure that the town of Agawam is aware of the Vacation Vittles program, Mountain said she is hoping that the community will come together to share the information. “We want to make sure that Agawam families in need know of this program so it’s important that awareness gets out in our community. We will have some flyers set out in local businesses, posted on the school department’s social media, and also distributed through the help of the Agawam Family & Community Program. However, we will need the help of our community to reach out to those that may need this food support over summer vacation and share the details of when food will be distributed.

To pre-register for the program, contact Mountain at 564-7126 or lrimt1221@yahoo.com. To help support the program, monetary donations can be made payable to the “Agawam Lions Foundation” and sent to Agawam Lions Club, c/o Vacation Vittles, P.O. Box 52, Agawam, MA 01001. Donations of food are also accepted and can be delivered to Bethany Assembly of God, located at 580 Main Street in Agawam. Families are encouraged to pre-register but are also welcome to come to St. David’s Episcopal Church to register and pick up food.