KIDS FOOD BASKET
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Mission Statement
One in five Michigan children are affected by hunger and we are working to change that. Kids' Food Basket provides young children, ages 5-12, with access to healthy foods each weekday to take home after school. We are the largest organization in West Michigan focused solely on childhood hunger. Daily, we provide 7,500 children with a critical evening meal called a Sack Supper. More than 250 community members fuel our mission daily by preparing, packing and delivering Sack Suppers to 36 schools in Kent County, 3 schools in Muskegon County and 3 schools in Ottawa County.
About This Cause
Kids' Food Basket was founded fifteen years ago when an elementary school principal witnessed some of the children at her school rummaging through garbage looking for food to take home after school. The children we serve attend schools where 70% or more of the student population receive free/reduced cost breakfast and lunch. Child poverty in the United States has reached record levels with a growing number of children going hungry every day. For the first time ever, over half the public school students in the country are from low-income families (No Kid Hungry). The children we serve rely on school meals for their nutritional needs during the school year. Since 2003, we have grown from serving critical evening meals to 125 children at two schools to now serving nearly 7,500 children at 42 schools in West Michigan. With more than 49,392 children receiving free/reduced cost meals at school, we are only meeting 15% of the need. Healthy children equal health futures. Because food-insecure children are exposed to factors that may impair brain development and affect cognitive, social and emotional functioning, it is important to nourish their minds and bodies with healthy food choices during their formative years. Through our Sack Supper Program, children receive a nutritious evening meal each weekday to take home after school. This fills a grocery gap for the families of the children we serve and kids feel less anxious knowing that lunch is not their last reliable meal of the day. Each Sack Supper contains healthy brain food: a serving each of fresh fruits and vegetables, a protein and dairy, essential for the proper growth and development of healthy bones and brains. Kids' Food Basket empowers communities to attack childhood hunger so that young people can learn and live well. More than 250 community members show up each day to prepare, pack and deliver Sack Suppers to 42 schools. During the summer months, we partner with summer school programs and local parks and recreations sites to ensure children have access to meals.