SUMMER HARVEST - FOOD FOR KIDS INC
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Mission Statement
Summer Harvest is an 100% volunteer ran independent 501(c)(3) that services over 230 families, providing distributions of food six times over the eleven weeks of summer and once in the winter. Summer Harvest now partners with Cypress Elementary School District, Los Alamitos Unified School District and Fountain Valley School District. We work with a produce wholesaler in Los Angeles and involve nearly 200 community volunteers. We currently have 6 board members. Our Mission is to provide healthy meals to families with children on the free and reduced lunch program, during breaks from school, through the distribution of food and education. Our vision is to eliminate food insecurity for school-aged children in affluent communities where children do not qualify for government or other help programs.
About This Cause
About Summer Harvest In Orange County 1 in 5 children experience food insecurity or in other words they do not know where their next meal is coming from. A large body of research, amassed over the past two decades, show food insecurity and hunger, together with other correlates of poverty, can dramatically alter a child’s health and development, which has implications not only for the child but for the country’s economic growth and stability. In December 2011, a teacher at King Elementary in Cypress, CA expressed concern about families that were on free and reduced lunch. With 60% of the students on free or reduced lunch, she wondered what food the children would eat for lunch when they were home over winter break. The founder of Summer Harvest, Amy Payne, began to ponder the teacher’s question and wondered, “If families struggle over the two weeks of winter break, what happens to those children during the 10 weeks of summer?” Amy began to search for solutions. She looked for options within already existing organizations and government programs and realized that there was a disconnect. While a school can qualify for free or reduced lunch during the school year with any percentage of students in need, during the summer of 2012 the federal feeding program was only available to those schools with 70% or greater. The school didn’t qualify for a program and this meant neither did the kids. Based on a 2013 report it is estimated that Cypress Elementary School District has 1 in 3 and Los Alamitos Unified School District only has 1 in 8 students experience food insecurity. Again the districts do not qualify and this mean neither do the students. After a great deal of research into the programs already in existence, Amy recognized that if something was going to be done to eliminate food insecurity for children in unqualified districts, a new program needed to be created. Amy recruited a group of volunteers and named the program Summer Harvest. During her research she found a non-profit in Texas that was running a similar feeding program in the schools. She partnered with “Food for the Soul” in Keller, Texas, which allowed her to operate as a 501c(3) in 2012. Locally, Summer Harvest partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Cypress and the Cypress Elementary School District to provide bags of fresh fruits, vegetables, staples and recipes for families to make healthy recipes at home. The food was handed out Saturday mornings four times over the summer. The first year we helped approximately 35 families at King Elementary school. The concept was to supplement the family food budget with fresh fruits and vegetables because they are the most nutritious and the most expensive part of a food budget. Each distribution included fresh fruits and vegetables and easy recipes that used the produce. Based on the success of the first year, the program was expanded to cover all of Cypress Elementary School District and Los Alamitos School District. In Los Alamitos, we partnered with the Youth Center to open a second distribution site. That year we watched Summer Harvest skyrocket to 185 families. That same year we began a winter distribution that recognized the need for alternative cooking methods. We had 40 crockpots donated to give away to families as gifts. This enabled families to have a way to prepare healthy meals instead of fast food or frozen dinners. It also provided an option for cooking healthy meals for some of the families living in motels or homes without full kitchens. In 2014, the leaders of Summer Harvest realized the need to file their own 501(c)(3). Summer Harvest was incorporated in July of 2014 and has received its Letter of Determination from Federal Government. Our Mission is to provide healthy foods to families with children on the free or reduced lunch program during summer and winter breaks through the distribution of food and education. Our vision is to eliminate food insecurity for school-aged children in affluent communities where children do not qualify for government programs. In 2014, Summer Harvest partnered with schools and religious organizations to have five food drives where over 1,400 pounds of food was collected. Summer Harvest also collected School supplies and backpacks for children enrolled in our program. We provided backpacks filled with school supplies to all K-12 children. In 2015, to establish a better relationship with families that we serve, we started a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Cypress at the King school site to offer a hands on cooking class for students focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables called Positive Sprouts. The program focuses on a fruit or vegetable that could be grown in the on-site garden and uses that produce as the star ingredient of the cooking class. HOW OUR PROGRAM WORKS Summer Harvest works with qualified school districts to help identify families whose children received free or reduced lunch during the school year. The school district helps to advertise our program with a registration form or flier. Families can turn in the form to a local school or can register directly on line at Summerharvest.us Once a family has registered for a distributions site, their name is added to our e-mail database. On the Friday prior to the Saturday distribution an e-mail reminder will be sent to the family at the e-mail provided to Summer Harvest to remind them to pick up their groceries on Saturday morning. On the first distribution a family attends they will receive a Summer Harvest registration card that can be used a future distributions. This card has a QRC code and the Summer Harvest Logo. Once the card is scanned and a family is check in they will receive fresh fruits and vegetables, pantry items (like cereal, pasta, canned beans and rice), and a set of recipes for the week. Below is a list of items included in a typical distribution and the corresponding recipes are attached. Families will also have the opportunity to take any leftover produce or anything from the “store” of non-perishable items that have been donated from food drives. 2 Onion 3 Red or Green Bell Pepper 2 Garlic 3 Zucchini 1 bunch Basil 1lb bags Carrots 3 Tomatoes - roma 3 nectarines 1 Rice – 2 lb bag 1 Pasta – 1 lb box 1 Can Tomato Sauce 1 Cereal – box 1 Canned Corn 1 Canned Black Beans or Kidney Beans 1 Canned Chicken