11 (hundred) students snacking!
Whenever I see boys and girls begin trickling into one of our after school meal programs, I know they’re thinking about all the things that have happened that day – with their teachers, friends, families. But most of all, they’re thinking about food.
By the time kids tumble into the classrooms, rec centers, and apartment community rooms where we host meals, lunch was hours ago. And for a lot of them, it would be even longer if they weren’t coming in.
I vividly remember a mother picking her sons up from the aftercare site I was visiting one day. The kids were still eating, and she waited patiently as they finished, encouraging them to eat “just one more bite,” and to clean their plates. Like a lot of children who eat with us in the evenings, they likely wouldn’t have dinner waiting at home.
A highlight of my work is seeing the kids discover new foods (one little girl marveled at a clementine recently, exclaiming that it was the tiniest orange she’d ever seen). And as our site leaders ask about the kids’ days, help them with homework, and listen while they talk and eat ravioli with broccoli or chicken with peas, or whatever good, warm meal is on the menu that day, I know that they’re growing their minds and bodies.
Your support makes dinner possible for kids throughout our area – about 1,100 in each region we serve. Please make a generous gift today and help more kids go to bed full and happy!