Hopelink's "End Summer Hunger" Campaign Gears Up for Final Stretch

’s annual grassroots campaign aimed at making sure kids on summer break have enough to eat enters the home stretch about a quarter of the way toward its June 30 goal of $254,000.

Participants have brought in about $62,000 since the drive began in April – with more than a third of that raised through coin drives in schools, community and business fundraising efforts, and individual donations.

The “End Summer Hunger” fund and food drives help feed many of the nearly 11,000 children in north and east King County who qualify for free or reduced-cost meals during the school year but have nowhere to turn for nutritious meals during the summer months. The kids who are helped by the End Summer Hunger program are like children everywhere: active, energetic and hopeful – except they often don’t have enough to eat during what should be the most carefree time of their lives. 

During the summer months, the additional food needed by families with children on summer break costs Hopelink food banks about $13 per child for a two-week period.

Expedia is the presenting sponsor for End Summer Hunger 2011. Additional sponsors include First Tech Credit Union,Concur Technologies, Inc., Intelius, Labor Ready, Tecplot, Nintendo of America Inc., AvalonBay Communities, Bob Byers Volvo, BECU, Infospace and Bookey Consulting.

For information on how to get involved in End Summer Hunger, go to www.hope-link.org.

— Information provided by Hopelink