For Johnny Calles, family is everything. 

“We’re really big on family. So, a lot of the things we do, we do together,” Johnny said. “I take one look at my family, and I’m like, ‘I’ll do anything for them. They fire me up.’”

Johnny, his wife Jessica and their two children, 14-year-old Leila and 15-year-old Gage, live in Fresno, California. 

They love to be together. So it probably is no surprise that when the kids are off school during the summer, they hang out together – a lot.

“Me and my dad will shoot hoops together,” Leila said. “Or, my mom will throw a baseball to me and I’ll work on hitting and running the bases.”

The pool is always a big hit, too.

“My kids love to swim in the summertime,” Jessica said. “If it’s during the weekend, there’s a good chance we’re all swimming.”

For Gage, the summer is a great time to work on his football skills.

“I go out with my dad and a bunch of cones and we’ll practice together,” he said.

But, for Johnny and Jessica, summertime isn’t all fun and games. 
Jessica works full-time at a doctor’s office and Johnny does part-time tiling and other contractor work. However, affording food during the summer can be difficult.

“Summer is more challenging to provide food, from a financial standpoint,” Jessica admitted. “The kids are home from school, so we need more food in the house, more snacks in the house.”

During the school year, more than 21 million children in the United States – including Gage and Leila – eat free meals at school. When school is out of session and those meals are no longer available, the Feeding America network helps ensure kids and families have the food they need to thrive.

In Fresno, Jessica, Johnny and the kids visit the Central California Food Bank’s First Fruits Market during the summer to help fill the gap. The food bank, a member of the Feeding America network, runs a food pantry in a downtown Fresno community center.

"Before the Market, there was some worry that we weren't going to have milk or we weren't going to have breakfast or be able to cook dinner,” Jessica said. “But now that we've learned about it, it's been comforting and life changing."

“Sometimes I wonder if we’re going to make it through the week. But that’s why (the Market) really helps,” Johnny added.

The family goes to the Market every two weeks. There, they receive free, fresh produce, protein and shelf-stable food. Having access to that food is crucial to ensuring the kids – and adults – can thrive over the summer and year-round.

And, it gives Gage the energy he needs to have fun and practice his favorite sport.

"The food that they provide for us, it gives me the energy I need to go out there and perform the way I do in football."

Adds Leila: "When I have a good meal and I'm full, I'm just in a better mood. I'm more focused. I feel like I'm able to do more and think better and have a better mindset."

Throughout the summer, meals and groceries are distributed in places where children and families already gather, including parks, libraries, and local community programs – like the one Jessica and Johnny visit with their kids.

"Having summer food programs out there, knowing that they're going to have snacks and have meals to help my kids  concentrate - that gives me hope for them to have a good future," Jessica said.

The stability that the summer meals provide for the present and future is something that Gage values, too.

"Having that food makes me feel like I have a pillar that I can rely on in life," he said.

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