Summer Meal Program Wins Award for 2nd Year in a Row

St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Department of Community Health has earned a Gold Level Turnip the Beet! Award for its 2024 Summer Meals program in Allentown and Quakertown, the Pennsylvania Department of Education has announced.

The Turnip the Beet! Award, presented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services (USDA FNS), recognizes outstanding summer meal program sponsors across the country that work hard to offer children high quality meals that are appetizing, appealing and nutritious during the summer months.

St. Luke’s is among 199 sponsors across the country that earned the award for 2024. This is the second year in a row St. Luke’s has won the Turnip the Beet! Award.

“Being a consecutive year winner is quite an accomplishment,” said Dianne M. Dabulis, RD, MPA, LDN, division chief of Nutrition Education & Summer Food Services Programs for the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

St. Luke’s Community Health Department launched the Summer Meals program in 2019 in response to the Network’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), which showed that more than half of students in the Allentown and Quakertown Community School Districts were eligible for free and reduced meals during the academic year.

In Allentown this summer, free grab-and-go meals were again available at Star Community Health’s Sigal Center as part of the Summer Meals Program. Since its inception, the program has been supported by Hatzel & Buehler, Inc., formerly known as West Side Hammer Electric.

“At St. Luke’s, we believe that no child should suffer the consequences of hunger,” said Bill Moyer, St. Luke’s West Region President. “Ensuring that every child has the nourishment they need to grow strong and stay healthy is fundamental to our commitment to community health.”

In Quakertown, the Summer Meals program has received financial support from Penn Community Bank. This summer, meals were served at Free Fall Action Park (670 S. Main Street, Quakertown).

Dennis Pfleiger, President of St. Luke’s Upper Bucks and Quakertown campuses, said, “The Summer Meals Program is a critical investment in the health and future of our children. By providing consistent access to nutritious meals when school is out, this initiative helps prevent summer hunger, supports child development, and ensures that every student returns to the classroom ready to learn and succeed.”