Welcome back to our blog series, the No Kid Hungry New York Partner Spotlight. We’ll be speaking to our partners across the state, learning what’s new in their summer meals programs, and celebrating the tremendous work they do to ensure that more kids have access to the the fuel they need to learn, grow and thrive. This week, we heard from Valerie Kampf at Morrisville-Eaton Central School District, a rural K-12 district in Central NY.
What are some of the challenges (or barriers) that kids and families face during the summer? How has implementing more flexible summer feeding options helped to overcome this?
Some challenges that most families face are both parents are working. Parents can’t afford to take time off to take their kids to a feeding site for breakfast and back for lunch. With our schools the way they are they can’t even walk to school.
How have kids and families expressed gratitude for flexible summer feeding options such as grab-n-go meals, pick-up meals and home-delivered meals?
Our summer feeding program is reaching about 300 kids a week. Their parents / guardians that pick up cannot say enough how much it is appreciated. How much it really helps out. They continually thank us for what we are able to do for them.
What are the most popular items on your summer menu? What is your favorite item to serve?
Some of the popular items we serve on our menus are stuffed crust pizza, chicken tenders, hamburgers, and even french toast sticks. Even our fresh produce is a huge hit, fresh peaches, clementines, apple, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, and pears.
What would you say to other program leaders who are reluctant to implement flexible summer feeding options such as grab-n-go, pick-up meals and home-delivered meals?
It is […] a challenge to get started. You need to be determined and do what is needed to make it work for the families as well as for your staff. You need to be able to have enough cooler or freezer space. […] Allow yourself plenty of staff and time for prepping. The reward is in the end when the families come in to pick up their week of breakfast and lunches. When they see the boxes of food ready for them to take home, they are just in awe that we do this for them to provide healthy meals each day.
If you could tell everyone in America something about summer meals, especially flexible feeding options (e.g. grab-no-go, pick-up meals, home-delivered meals), what would you tell them?
You should definitely do it if […] possible. There is definitely a need, and the families really do appreciate it. You will go home each day especially on pick up day very tired, but it is all worth it to know how many kids have been given the opportunity for a healthy breakfast and lunch each day.
At No Kid Hungry New York, we thank Valerie and the food service staff members at Morrisville-Eaton Central School District for their dedication and enthusiasm in feeding kids throughout the summer. We’re grateful to support their work and honored to shine a spotlight on their extraordinary program!
