YOUNGSTOWN — Second Harvest Food Bank announced a $20,000 grant from Shipt to help provide food to children in the Mahoning Valley.

The grant will enable Second Harvest to provide 120,000 more meals this summer.

Officials said in a news release that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for families to feed their children, and for many children in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, having access to nutritious food throughout the summer days is a challenge. One in five area children struggles with hunger.

“We are grateful for Shipt’s commitment to helping children facing hunger. The last thing on a child’s mind should be where their next meal will come from,” said Mike Iberis, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.

Shipt, a same-day delivery service with a network of 300,000 personal shoppers nationwide, is committed to fighting hunger in communities that it serves. Through its Summer Feeding Program Grant, Shipt has supported 13 Feeding America food banks this year.

“Shipt is proud of our long-standing relationship with, and support of, Feeding America,”ã said Courtney Richardson, chief people and community officer for Shipt. “We believe that every child deserves a summer where they can thrive and experience the joy of childhood, and that isn’t possible if they are hungry. The incredible challenges of the past 18 months have only increased the food insecurity challenges children and families are facing.”

Shipt provides personal shopping and delivery and is available to 80 percent of households in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Target Corp. Founded and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, visit Shipt.com.

Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, a member of Feeding America, provides food to those in need in the tri-county area through 160 hunger-relief organizations and programs, which include church pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, shelters for battered women, and school pantries. In 2020, the Food Bank distributed 15.6 million pounds of food, including 5.2 million pounds of produce. For more information on the Food Bank, www.mahoningvalleysecondharvest.org or call 330-792-5522

Also gifting Second Harvest is local farmer Alice Campbell, who recently directed a $2,500 Bayer Fund America’s Farmers Grow Communities donation to the food bank. The food bank will use the funds to help families and children in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties facing hunger.

“We appreciate Trumbull County farmer Alice Campbell for selecting Second Harvest Food Bank to receive this donation which will provide 15,000 meals in the Mahoning Valley,”ã said Iberis.

Since 2010, the America’s Farmers programs have awarded more than $59 million to nonprofits, aspiring ag students and public schools across rural America.