LISTEN: Anchorage meal program seeks to feed hungry, including some recently out of work

“Pantry pack” boxes of food being assembled by Children’s Lunchbox in Anchorage. (Bean’s Cafe/Children’s Lunchbox)

Children’s Lunchbox, a Bean’s Cafe program in Anchorage, is one of the organizations working to feed hungry Alaskans. Some of them are newly out of work as businesses have closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

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With more people needing help feeding their children and themselves, Children’s Lunchbox has launched a new initiative to raise money for what they call “pantry packs.” Each one is a shelf-stable meal in a box that can feed a family of four.

Bean’s Cafe Executive Director Lisa Sauder says the initiative started with the organization taking a bigger-picture look at families’ food needs amid the pandemic.

Sauder told Alaska Public Media’s Casey Grove that Children’s Lunchbox is now hoping to provide tens of thousands of the boxed-up meals.

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Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him atcgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Caseyhere

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