During school breaks, many Vineyard students lose access to the free school lunches on which they rely each day. With April school vacation week approaching, Island Grown Initiative is gearing up to help feed Island families with school-aged children through its community lunch program.
Island Grown, the Vineyard’s largest food pantry serving one in five Islanders, has been running the program during February, April and summer school vacations since 2017, providing families with pre-made meals to make up for school lunches missed on breaks.
Families with school-aged children can apply for the program by Thursday, April 9 at 6 p.m. through an online portal on Island Grown’s website. Orders will then be available for pick up on Friday, April 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the IGI Kitchen, located at 14 A Street, Edgartown, across from the RMV in the Airport Business Park.
For the Island’s food-insecure families, the program is crucial, said Island Grown food equity director Merrick Carreiro.
“We’re filling that gap to make sure that families and children have all the nutrition they need,” she told the Gazette.
Ms. Carreiro, who oversees distribution for community lunch, said that the April break program serves roughly 50 families and 100 children. She said she and her team of volunteers are grateful to be able to serve the Island community.
“It takes such a load off of families to know that their basic nutritional needs for their children are being met when school is out,” she said.
Families that sign up for the program will pick up a week’s worth of meal kits from Island Grown on Friday. The meals feature Island-sourced ingredients where possible, said Ms. Carreiro.
She added that the program is intentional about catering to dietary restrictions, including alpha-gal, the tick-borne allergy to red meat and other mammalian food products. Addressing dietary restrictions, she noted, is a financial burden for many families.
“It’s really important that we’re thinking about that when offering meal kits,” she said.
The program is supported by the United Way, the Couch Family Foundation and the Slough Farm Foundation. Ms. Carreiro said that the best way to support the program is by donating to Island Grown directly.
“We all want to be excited about school vacation, but for a lot of families, it’s an extra financial burden to cover those meals,” she said. “During these school vacation breaks, it is so helpful, financially and emotionally, to have that extra support on hand.”
For additional information and the link to the order form, visit igimv.org/community-lunch.
This article appears in April 10, 2026.
Thank you for sharing and spreading loving kindness amongst the community. Island Grown is a gift to all!
I have to add to the comment by Phyllis.
It’s an incredible gift except when they force us to pick up in an area we can’t safely get to with out cars. I’m not alone on this. I know other moms who can’t access it. I wish they would set up in areas kids play or something. I was told they can’t.
I hear mothers saying it was great when it was more accessible.
Just letting people know in case they don’t understand the needs when some have no car or can’t access the bus safely. And yes I know the bus is super safe compared to the city but not for us all these days. I’ll keep that part just since no one cares.
I do know the ones who can’t get there struggle. The snap system is impossible to navigate for some. Not all. Just adding. Yes this is a miracle and the island has done more than any where I know to get healthy food to the people who need it.
And there are cracks