Entering into an exciting 2013, I want to take the opportunity to remember the special events our sites were given over the holidays, thanks to the generosity of so many individuals and corporations.
Volunteers flooded in, sharing holiday warmth; companies were generous with certain sites and children at our Kids Cafe sites received fruit bags for the holiday break ensuring that while school was out, they would have fresh fruit.
Every year, I am excited by the outpouring of donations around the holidays. Every year, January provides a little bit of a letdown as all of this benevolence wanes.
A site director explained, “The kids ask me about the fruit bags. They really look forward to having them as something special over the holiday break.”
Here’s the catch, over the rest of the year we really want our sites to be feeding the kids nutritious foods. With every supper we send out, fresh produce is part of that meal. The meals use whole grains and introduce children to healthy food options at a young age.
Our Weekend Bag program has a fresh twist, too! In 2013, we are starting a fresh produce pilot. We will explore how to incorporate fresh produce into the already successful program to ensure children in our community have enough to eat over the weekend.
You can help feed children in our community by supporting these programs. Come volunteer or donate to help maintain these programs.