United Way is partnering with Zanesville City Schools and New Lexington Local Schools to ensure that children who can’t afford to buy lunch during the week also have meals to eat on the weekends.

Zanesville City Schools have a free lunch program to assist families who cannot provide a daily lunch or lunch money for their school-aged children during the week. While it’s beneficial to the children during the school week, the service has no impact on the children over the two-day weekends.

At United Way’s annual celebration breakfast the nonprofit announced the investments in the community to help United Way achieve its goals of health, education and financial stability.

“Of course, education being a very significant focus. It is a passion of mine, a passion of many people in the community, to help people help the youth be more successful in the community,” Katie McNeil, the Director of Resource Development at United Way, said. “So, with that comes the natural partnership with Zanesville City School and New Lex Local Schools in this United for Kids Program.”

The organization’s investment committee has decided to gift $18,000 to each of the programs. United for Kids is acting as a supplement to free school lunches during the week to assure that the school children are also being fed when they aren’t in school.

“Those kids in need can be equipped for success and basically fed for the weekend,” McNeil said. “They’ll be sent home with a food bad, a ‘backpack’ and they’ll take it home and that’ll make sure they have what they need for the weekend.”

More details of the program will be released soon to clarify how people can apply and who may be eligible to take part in the program.