The Snack Box program delivers healthy snack ingredients along with recipes and educational materials to Kids Café sites so that site leaders can engage in interactive, educational snack preparation with children.

Valencia Jackson, our new Kids Cafe® Nutrition Education Trainer, created this snack and lesson during her first month on the job! The purpose of the lesson was to talk about fruits and reinforce the USDA’s new guidelines to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. Valencia created an educational activity where kids attach their favorite fruits to half of their breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates – because fruit makes every meal a party! Valencia distributed the Snack Box to 21 sites, providing resources to Kids Cafe site leaders to make snack time healthy, educational, and fun.

Valencia is packing up the October Snack Box lesson – Half Moon Veggie Pita – today. This lesson will focus on the benefits of vegetables and will again reinforce the recommendation to fill half you plate with fruits and vegetables.

School is back in session.  Pop quiz!  How many children live in food insecure homes in the United States?   What percentage of children live in food insecure households in Washington, D.C.?  According to the USDA statistics, about 16 million children live in food insecure households.  This means that they don’t know where their next meal will come from.  Here in D.C., 32.3 percent of children live in food insecure households.  

Tests, projects and homework make school tough enough but adding the element of hunger makes these essential pieces of school almost impossible.  It is tough to concentrate on an empty stomach.  At the Capital Area Food Bank, we are striving to ensure that kids all across the region ace their tests!  As school gets back into full swing, we are working throughout the region to reach school-aged children and their families.

In the Food For Kids Department  we are spending our evenings and weekends at Back-to-School programs in order to talk to children and their families about the afterschool and weekend meals we are providing through our Kids Cafe and Weekend Bag programs.  In addition to talking about our programs, we are disseminating health information, books and school supplies.  Spending time with us is the Public Policy and Community Outreach department spreading the word about SNAP benefits.  Partner Relations has given us information to share about our Hunger Life Line-a tool connecting community members to food in their area.

The next time you see a food bank staff person in your neighborhood or school, give them a high five for their work on helping eliminate hunger in our area.  They deserve some extra credit!

In the Food For Kids Department, our Kids Cafe and Weekend Bag sites often invite us to attend their events and to distribute information about the services we provide across the food bank.  We distribute  fliers and handouts on Hunger Lifeline, SNAP benefits, Kids Cafe and Weekend Bag, tasty recipes, tour cards, and more.  We provide give-aways and food samples that promote healthy eating and key nutrition messages.

Meleah Boyle, MD Kids Cafe/Weekend Bag Coordinator at the recent Rock Creek Terrace Community Day

Rock Creek Terrace Apartments (part of Edgewood Management Corporation) in Rockville, MD recently held a community day event for their apartment complex and invited us to set up a booth.  Their community center participates in both Kids Cafe and Weekend Bag, serving up to 60 children a day.  We had a wonderful time talking with people – chatting about the programs that their community center has for their children, answering questions about other services, and giving out samples of a delicious black bean salsa recipe that can be made with common Weekend Bag items.

At community events, we have the unique opportunity to talk with people with every type of interest in the food bank – those needing our services, interested in volunteering, wanting to donate, or just wanting to find out who we are.  Community events bring us together with different groups, inspire interest in our mission, and keep us connected with those in need.

Took our tykes to a farm!

As part of being a site served by the Capital Area Food Bank (our kids receive a daily afterschool snack and, now that it’s summer, lunch) we get to participate in the Farm Youth Initiative, where our kids get to visit a local farm to learn all about healthy plants and how we grow ‘em.

One long and not entirely barf-free bus ride brought us to Clagett Farm, which partners with the food bank. We were ushered into a barn where I immediately met the beautiful, comforting sight of scads of fresh garlic hanging from the ceiling to dry (garlic that I’ve been getting to eat all week, garlic that is SPECTACULAR!)

I admired the attitude they tried to instill about nature in the kids; they pointed out that yes there were bugs everywhere on the farm, but were it not for the bees and the wasps doing their crucial pollinating, they would have no new plants. “Don’t bother them and they won’t bother you. You are a giant. They are scared of you.” And sure enough, everyone stayed calm and no one got stung.

We began with some games that reviewed good nutrition (the kids had already received an intro nutrition class back at our site).  The way they approached everything was simple and age-appropriate.  The basic take-home lessons were

1. The first ingredients should be something good for you
2. A short list is a good list
3. Don’t eat anything you can’t pronounce

In this activity, which involved buckets of water (many many points for farm people!), the kids ran relays to dump cups into buckets. Their cups had ingredients written on them (everything from “carrots” to “high fructose corn syrup”) and they had to pour them into the “healthy” or “unhealthy” bucket. They were into it!

Then we marched up to the small but beautifully maintained gardens.

Clagett farm is gigantic (it was originally a tobacco farm that was repurposed for organic fruits and veggies and various education programs), but this little section is specifically for the Farm Youth Initiative, the partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank that brought us here.

They very cleverly divided up the garden into the “pasta garden” (ingredients that you would put into pasta or a pasta salad like the one we’d eat later that day), and a “pizza garden” (ingredients for pizza).  A great way for kids to see fresh veggies not as (eurgh) actual fresh veggies but as ingredients in delicious foods with which they were comfortable and familiar.

And they got to pick them!

The instructors reviewed the techniques for properly picking tomatoes, hot peppers (hint: don’t touch them directly or they’ll burn you!), and carrots (which were tricky to get out of the ground! They stepped in giving them a little nudge with a spade. Apparently the trick to picking carrots when they’re ready is to wait until you can see the orange tops of the carrots sticking out).

The kids were all responsible for washing and weighing their produce (they were annoyed that they didn’t get to hold on to their individual tomatoes and carrots, because some were “better” than others. I swear to God, the things kids come up with to be competitive about are truly insane).

Anyway, they ended up with a pretty good lookin’ stash!

We played around the garden a little more: while one of the guides ran to another building to get supplies, I introduced the kids to “nature’s gum” (fresh mint).  They were super into it! When I was a kid and we’d go out to dinner, I always ate the mint garnish on fancy desserts (well I mean, actually I still do).

Then we got to play in the sprinkler (which is totally still just as fun when you’re an adult) and then paid a visit to some chickens!

The guides told the kids that the chickens liked eating juicy crickets, grasshoppers, and praying mantises, and the kids had WAY too much fun catching bugs and throwing them into the chickens. The chickens were actually eating straight out of kids’ hands by the end of it (which our guides said was really unusual).

Back to the barn we went, for a quick activity identifying the veggies we saw in the garden that went into the snack we were about to eat.

And then it was local food time! Whoo! I was very very obviously very very excited.

The table was beautifully laid out, with scrumptious looking whole-wheat pasta salad, that contained (this is clever, people with kids should do this) vegetables that were shredded so finely you were hard-pressed to tell what they were).

And bowls with a colorful selection of the veggies they themselves had picked (those yellow tomatoes are probably the most sweet, delicious of their kind I have ever been fortunate enough to taste) and, to keep the kiddos happy, some cheese.

In general, I was disappointed about how little the kids ate. A lot of them raved about the cucumbers (perhaps the texture of that is more familiar to them? Kids like crunch?), and some of them just kept on eating the yummy salad, but in general they were still kind of apprehensive about the whole thing. We also just have a bunch who never seem to eat anything…

Anyway, I sure did! And more and more and more. I could not stop. It was SO GOOD!

Hilarious: I point my camera at this, and Karen, one of our most sarcastic fifth graders (whom I adore), looks at me and says, “You would take a picture of your pasta salad, Ileana”.

Yes. I would.

Trip concluded with a visit to the porta potties. Mitigated by the beautiful flowers blooming near them!

Donations and volunteers have always been a crucial part of the work completed at the Capital Area Food Bank.  Luckily, one volunteer took her efforts to the next level by organizing a canned food drive in order to support the Food For Kids department!  Deb Roeber and her son Dalton are involved with the West Springfield Little League and organized a competition between little league teams to see who could provide the most items.

Food for Kids staff in NOVA worked with Deb, who secures other donations such as tickets from the Nationals, for WSLL events.   When asked about where she developed her desire to assist the community and the CAFB Deb said that:

“My son Dalton inspired me to give back as he volunteered at your Kids Cafe in March to earn hours for the national junior honor society. Dalton needed some more hours so we both thought of the idea to join his favorite sport and give back. Here we thought why not have his fellow teammates and friends he plays ball with give back as well. The community always support us so we wanted to help others. We hope to continue to give back to the food bank in the years to come!”

People like Deb, and all volunteers enhance the quality of work we are able to complete here at the food bank.  I enjoy the opportunity to get to work with people like her and other CAFB staff who are dedicated to addressing hunger problems in the Washington metro area!

Truck full of donations from Little League teams

Over the course of one month, this team of 11, thoughtfully named Moose 1, truly served as an integral piece to our ‘community response to hunger.’  The team split their 40-hour work week between farming and gardening at Clagett Farm, performing SNAP outreach at out Mobile Pantry sites, as well as helping our Food For Kids department with packing Kids Cafe boxes and assisting at our Kids Cafe sites.

Despite having to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning to perform their morning team building activities, the team always carried along a smile and the willingness and eagerness to serve.  This inspiring and dynamic group of individuals made a huge impression on our hearts and in the communities we serve.

We hope that this experience was as influential and meaningful to them as it was to the food bank, our partners and the people we serve.  If you are a nonprofit organization in need of a group of dedicated individuals to work on a specific project for special amount of time, I would highly recommend you consider applying for a team of AmeriCorps NCCC volunteers.  The amount of work this team was able to accomplish in such a short span of time was incredible and worth every minute!

Thank you team Moose 1 and we wish you the best in all of your future service projects!

AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps is working with the Capital Area Food Bank to end hunger in the Washington metro region.   

Together, the food bank and NCCC transport thousands of vegetables; assist D.C. residents with food stamp applications; teach kids the importance of a healthy diet; and package food for after school/ summer programs for children – all in an effort to end hunger in the nation’s capital.  The members of NCCC were humbled and inspired by Brian Banks, the CAFB’s Director of Public Policy and Community Outreach, who recently delivered a short and powerful message. 

“Hunger can happen everywhere.  People come home from work and the kids ask, ‘What’s for dinner?’  Mom or dad goes to open that refrigerator and all they see is a bright light.  What we do here with the help of volunteers like you is to help feed people and educate the general public about hunger in our communities.”  

The team, Moose 1, work three days a week at Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, toiling away in the fields planting thousands of potatoes, egg plants, zucchinis, peas and peppers – all of which will either be sold to shareholders or donated to the CAFB.  Volunteers also mend broken fence posts, weed fields, stack hay, and transplant vegetable cuttings into larger pots to help them grow.  Each day at the farm brings a new challenge to Moose 1; and each day the team tackles these challenges with enthusiasm and high spirits.

Moose 1 works at both the D.C. and NOVA warehouses for the remainder of the week.  In the morning, Moose 1 goes into the community, informs residents about the SNAP Program and gets them started with the application process.  In the afternoon, Moose 1 sorts and packs meals for the Kids Cafe program, and also visits Kids Cafe sites to teach school-aged children about the importance of nutrition.  It is a real treat for Moose 1 to interact with members of the community and to hear their stories.  After each encounter, team members walk away with a smile knowing they have made a positive impact on another’s life.

Written  by:  Mike Rood and Stephanie Snyder

The food bank is teaming up with KIND to Do the Kind Thing for children in need.  We are looking for people to commit one small act of kindness by Tuesday, June 7 (KIND Tuesday).  When you commit an act of kindness, KIND will donate funds to our Food for Kids’ Programs and help provide nutritious meals to children. 

What is the Big KIND Act?  By signing up, you agree to give someone who provides you with nourishment an orange by midnight on Tuesday!  Visit KIND for more information and to sign up.  Your participation will help provide 1800 nutritious meals to local children.

Help us make this Big KIND Act a reality by accepting the KINDING Mission today.

School will soon break for summer reccess. 

For some children this means vacations, time by the pool and fun with friends.  But for many kids in the Washington metro area, summer is a time when they do not have access to school meals.  In the food bank’s service area, 65 percent of children participate in federal school lunch and breakfast programs; and consume a majority of their calories at school.

Many families are struggling everyday just to get enough food to eat, and with children home for the summer, it becomes even more challenging.  The food bank invests in the lives of children at risk of hunger by providing continuous access to food when school meals are not available.  Our Kids Cafe program nourishes nearly 2000 children through after-school and summer enrichment programs; and our Weekend Bag program serves nearly 1700 children with take-home bags of nutritious food created to reduce hunger over weekends.

As you enjoy the summer and all the splendor that is brings, please remember those children who do not have access to three quality meals daily. 

Hunger never takes a vacation.

All photos are shared on the food bank’s Flickr account.

Please continue to join us each weekday this month to follow our story.  We look forward to sharing it with you!