Summer Is the Season Nobody Talks About When They Talk About Hunger
From the Executive Director
When people think about hunger, they usually think about the holidays.
They think about Thanksgiving food drives, Christmas meal baskets, and the times of year when need feels most visible. But one of the seasons I think about most is summer.
When school lets out, many children lose access to the breakfasts and lunches they count on during the school year. For families already stretching every dollar, that means finding a way to provide dozens of additional meals each month while still covering rent, utilities, gas, and everything else life requires.
What should feel like a season of rest often becomes a season of harder math.
“Hunger doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. It often looks like a parent skipping meals so their children can eat. It looks like difficult choices at the grocery store. It looks like families quietly carrying burdens that most of us never see.”
At Crossfire Ministries, we see this reality every day. We meet parents who are doing everything they can to care for their families. They are working, budgeting, sacrificing, and constantly trying to make sure there is enough. Often, the challenge isn't one major crisis—it's a series of small pressures that keep adding up. A higher grocery bill. A car repair. Reduced work hours. The end of school meals for the summer.
For many families, there simply isn't much room for one more expense.
What I wish more people understood is that hunger doesn't always look the way we expect it to. It often looks like a parent skipping meals so their children can eat. It looks like difficult choices at the grocery store. It looks like families quietly carrying burdens that most of us never see.
That's why our work isn't seasonal.
The need doesn't disappear after the holidays, and it doesn't take a vacation during the summer. Every day, we're reminded that our guests need more than occasional help—they need a community that sees them, cares about them, and walks alongside them throughout the year.
As we move into the summer months, I encourage you to keep these families in mind. Your support helps provide more than food. It reminds people that they are not alone and that their community cares.
Thank you for standing with us and with the families we serve.
— Renee Beebe
Read the full article with statistics and links on our LinkedIn page
