Outside the classroom

Here’s where Shelby County families can find free meals and snacks this summer

By 
Melissa Brown
and
Thomas Wilburn
 | June 16, 2025, 9:43pm UTC
A student wearing a pink shirt and a blue backpack carries a tray of food with a sandwich, orange, milk and yogurt.
A network of groups in Shelby County are pitching in to help feed local students who may be missing out on regular school meals during the summer break. (Getty Images)

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For the first time in five years, many Shelby County families are missing out on supplemental grocery cash this summer after Tennessee stopped participating in a federal program that served the entire state.

In Shelby County, a network of organizations with the Memphis-Shelby County Schools summer feeding program are serving meals and offering food pick-ups for students who are without school meals during the summer break. But the dates those sites are up and running, their opening times, and the meals offered vary widely.

Chalkbeat Tennessee built this map to help you find convenient food pickup locations this summer. Be sure to click the blue dot on the map to confirm a location’s opening and closing times.

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