FAMILY MEALS OF HOPE PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING IN OMAHA
OMAHA, Neb.—Food-insecure families will be able to grab free dinners around town this summer.
At a press conference on Tuesday, May 19, Major Dan Sawka announced The Salvation Army of Omaha was kicking off a new mobile-feeding program called Family Meals of Hope.
“This new program will be carried out by Salvation Army employees and volunteers, and it will focus on providing free dinnertime meals to families in need in the greater Omaha area," Sawka said.
Sawka noted that Douglas County's food insecurity rate is around 14.5 percent.
"Our research showed that food insecurity is, of course, still an issue,” Sawka said. “It's not going to go away."
The new program succeeds the former Kids Cruisin' Kitchen program and will feed thousands of free dinnertime meals to those in need this summer. Sawka said the former program’s original purpose was to feed kids in need while school was out during summer months.
But, he said, The Salvation Army of Omaha found the city had almost 80 active lunchtime-meal programs going on during the summertime.
"We asked ourselves, 'How could we be more effective in helping feed people in need during the summer?'” Sawka said. “The answer for us was dinnertime meals."
Each weeknight during the 2025 Family Meals of Hope season, The Salvation Army's canteens will bring free dinnertime meals to Miller Park, Benson Park, Upland Park, and Highland Park. Volunteers will provide them to anyone in need on a first-come-first-served basis.
"We want to say this to the families: If you are in need, we're here to help," Sawka said. “We encourage any family that's food insecure to join us for a free dinnertime meal."