One in five Central Florida kids is facing hunger. Food is an important part of a kid’s education. As local students head back to school, they need nutritious meals to be ready for science experiments, vocabulary quizzes and long division.
If something is as simple as a student is not concentrating, they’re not focusing, or they’re grumpy because they haven’t eaten, let’s go ahead and make sure that basic need is met.”
Principal Dr. Kate Dyer, Ortona Eementary
While many local school districts are able to provide free school breakfast and lunch this year, Second Harvest is operating a handful of kid-friendly programs to provide meals outside of the school day.
Kids Cafe
Kids Cafe provides nutritionally balanced meals on weekdays to after-school programs during the school year. Site partners such as community centers, churches and parks and recreation centers serve as a host to the program and provide a safe place for kids to gather for a meal, help with homework and fun, recreational activities.
You can help assemble these meals as a volunteer at Mercy Kitchen.
Kids Packs
The Kids Packs program provides nutritious meals to kids on the weekends when school cafeterias are closed. Packs are sent home with students on Fridays and contain a variety of nonperishable items like cereal, shelf-stable milk, juice, fruit cups and more. To make it as kid-friendly as possible, items have pop-top lids and can be easily prepared without adult supervision.
Kids Packs are assembled by volunteers at our main warehouse in Orlando and at company team-building events and conferences.
School Partnerships
One of the largest gaps in childhood hunger is programs directed at teens. School Partnerships were established to address issues of stigma and access to nutritious food by providing free snacks, meal items and produce to all students at a middle or high school without question of eligibility.
By pairing each school with a community-based nonprofit, such as a church, Rotary Club or Kiwanis, a relationship is formed to help students and educators succeed.
Your support provides meals for students so they can focus on their education. Thank you for making a difference in their lives and our community’s future.
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