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HELP US STOCK UP ON BROWN BAG LUNCH SUPPLIES Image

HELP US STOCK UP ON BROWN BAG LUNCH SUPPLIES

Packing and sharing thousands of FREE cold lunches requires a stockpile of supplies.

Donate supplies Fund our supply list
VOLUNTEERS ARE THE HEART OF OUR SUMMER BROWN BAG LUNCH PROGRAM Image

VOLUNTEERS ARE THE HEART OF OUR SUMMER BROWN BAG LUNCH PROGRAM

Volunteer with us!
BAG UP YOUR KINDNESS & SHARE IT Image

BAG UP YOUR KINDNESS & SHARE IT

A "Bags of Hope" Collection is a wonderful team building experience that expresses your generosity powerfully, guiding you to donate WHAT'S needed most WHEN it's most needed.

Learn More
BAG UP YOUR KINDNESS & SHARE IT Image

BAG UP YOUR KINDNESS & SHARE IT

A "Bags of Hope" Collection is a wonderful team building experience that expresses your generosity powerfully, guiding you to donate WHAT'S needed most WHEN it's most needed.

Learn More

 Food costs in the US are up 11.4% from a year ago, the most since 1979   

The Salvation Army's Brown Bag Program began in 1993 in response to the tough choices parents had to make each summer.   We never could have predicted that 3 decades later, the program would still be necessary.  The truth is, because of inflation, this program has never had more of an opportunity to supply a necessary kindness than now.   

DEDICATED TO THERESA, ETHEL & JEFF

Each one dedicated to good works in community, with family and always, in support of The Salvation Army mission. This year's Brown Bag Lunch Program will miss their love & commitment, and we serve in their memory.

Summer Brown Bag Lunch Giveaway Celebrates 31 years in 2024!

Fond du Lac's oldest free summer brown bag lunch program feeds children (and their parents/guardians) every June - August, and has since 1993.   Even the pandemic did not stop the free lunch distribution & we were awestruck by the distribution support from organizations as FDL Children's Museum, Public Library, Boys & Girls Club, and our food pantry and thrift store, all of whom kept the lunches available.  In 2021, Holy Family Parish came alongside the Brown Bag Lunch Program, slowly adopting the Tuesday segment of summer free lunches & changing the name to "Summer Bites"  in 2024.  

Each nutritional sack lunch includes: a peanut butter or meat sandwich, chips/snack, vegetable/fruit, dessert item & beverage. 

The Salvation Army Brown Bag Lunch 2024 INCLUDES SCUBA DIVING VBS!

2024  SPONSORS: A&W Fond du Lac, Faris Gourmet Popcorn & Treats, Eaton's Fresh Pizza & Deli, Kwik Trip.  Join us!               Contribute ingredients: Individual  fruit cups, juice boxes, cookies, fruit snacks

Volunteer with us

Make a donation online

*To host a Brown Bag Lunch collection on our behalf, please email FDLSAinfo@usc.salvationarmy.org 

NEW THIS YEAR....

PACKED WITH LOVE FROM ABOVE:  This year's Brown Bag Lunch Program carries the love and is dedicated in memory of:

Ethel Lohse, a wonderful heart who believed in nourishing families and children  - physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Supporting Brown Bag Lunch Program was dear to Ethel's heart, and she to our hearts.  

Jeff Faris, (pictured here with Barb Thill) who shared his popcorn with the program to extend love and support on behalf of his family and the business. 

 

Theresa Tousey lovingly gave her time to The Salvation Army, and the community she was born & raised in, for 16 years.  Summer Brown Bag Lunch Program was her "jam" and her willingness to pitch in when and however needed is dearly missed.
 

HISTORY OF BROWN BAG LUNCH PROGRAM

Claudette DeGarmo (Auman) was The Salvation Army Caseworker Fond du Lac parents in distress came to for help. “It broke my heart knowing kids and parents didn’t enjoy summer because the family food budget didn’t stretch far enough,” DeGarmo recalls. “Kids were going hungry. Major Moore (The Salvation Army FdL Officer at the time) encouraged me to create a solution, reiterating the philosophy The Salvation Army is built on, “When we see a problem, we have to find a way to address it.”

Brown Bag Lunch launched in 1993 and distributed 2600 free cold lunches that first year. Then as now, each lunch contains a peanut butter or meat sandwich, fruit, chips/snack and a beverage.

Each subsequent summer, the program increased. When Claudette moved onto different employment in 1997, the Brown Bag Lunch program was firmly rooted within The Salvation Army and the community.

In 2007, Barb Thill brought 33 years of work experience at Sentry Foods and her boundless energy with her when she first volunteered as the Brown Bag Lunch coordinator.  In 2017 a staggering 17, 519 lunches were packed and distributed.  The program earned recognition from State Senator Dan Feyen in 2019. This annual mammoth undertaking succeeds because of community volunteers and donations.  In 2021 Holy Family Catholic began working with the Brown Bag Lunch Program, packing and distributing the Tuesday lunches, renaming that portion of the program Summer Bites in 2024 and expanding the locations.