The Rotary Club of Temple-South has always been a huge supporter of the Temple Public Library, sponsoring book purchases and co-hosting programs with them. This year, however, the Library brought the Club a new service idea: Feeding Children.
While Rotary Club of Temple-South purchases books and participates in EarlyAct FirstKnight, both programs that feed the minds of children in the Temple area, there is another problem aside from literacy that is plaguing the children in Central Texas. That problem is food insecurity. This year, the Temple Public Library planned to collaborate with the Central Texas Food Bank in order to provide weekend meals to anyone aged 0 – 18 in the Temple Area; however, at the last minute, they were informed that the Food Bank would not be servicing any locations in Temple this Summer, leaving children without four meals between Saturday and Sunday. Once President Guillen and the rest of the outgoing and incoming board of the Temple-South Club heard about this, they knew they wanted and needed to act quickly.
Working in conjunction with the Library’s Director, the Rotary Club purchased the much-needed food and assisted packing it up to be distributed to children at the Library on Fridays. Since the first ever instance of the weekend meal giveaway on June 17, 224 children were provided with 896 meals – two breakfasts and two lunches – to keep their spirits and their bodies going through the intense heat of this Summer.
As the Summer comes to a close, with three Fridays left, the Rotary Club of Temple-South is happy to know that the children of Temple are benefitting, in such a necessary way, from their giving.