Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh offering free meals to kids during summer

PITTSBURGH — Summer has officially arrived, and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has taken notice.

Not only are they offering a place to cool off and read, they are also providing free meals to kids across the area.

“We just wanna make sure everybody has access to a good, healthy lunch every day, and all you need to do is come to the library,” said Sienna Cittadino, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh library services supervisor for children and teens.

“Making sure no child goes hungry” is the mission of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

With summer in full swing, the library re-introduced its Summer Food Service Program.

The overall goal is to offer free, accessible food — all while the kids are out of class.

“We know that there’s food insecurity. We offer daily snacks to youth in our space, but it’s great over the summer when they’re not in school and guaranteed to have that access to lunch and sometimes breakfast — to fill that gap so that everybody’s getting meals over the summer,” said Cittadino.

At least seven Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh locations are participating in the program.

This includes the Allegheny, Downtown, East Liberty, Hazelwood, Homewood, Knoxville and Woods Run libraries.

Meals are available to anyone 18 and younger and persons with disabilities up to 21 years old.

Organizers say the response has already been overwhelmingly positive, and they’re thrilled to give back during tough times.

“They just are happy that they have a relaxing place they can grab a meal and chat and get to know the adults at the library as well,” said Cittadino.

While you’re there, employees will help children and their families sign up for summer reading, where they can win prizes for reading books.

“This is also awesome because it helps curb summer learning loss.”

The summer meals at the library run through Aug. 19.

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