/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Marshall Food4Kids to distribute healthy snacks in August

Marshall Food4Kids is expanding to providing food to children this summer thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Trust. Food will be distributed each week during each of the two Jump Start summer school sessions. Food will also be distributed for five weeks following the Jump Start sessions.

The Marshall Food4Kids program was created to reduce the hunger children experience over the weekend when the National School Lunch Program is unavailable. Since 2013, the program has sent home bags of nutritious snacks with students during school year weekends. Now the program is endeavoring to help kids during the summer months as well.

“The Otto Bremer program staff member assigned to review our grant request challenged us to also address hunger in our community outside of the regular school year,” said Lisa Olin, Marshall Food4Kids board chair. “We came up with a plan to also make distributions during the summer months. The proposal, along with the requested additional funding to do so, was approved as part of our overall grant.”

Food is being distributed at each of the three-week Jump Start sessions. Food will also be distributed every Thursday in August – Aug. 2 to Aug. 30 – from noon-12:30 p.m. at R C Square (1116 Birch St., Marshall) and City Side Apartments (Community Room at 1402 S. 4th St., Marshall). The program expects to distribute 200 bags a week during the summer school sessions and 100 bags a week during breaks.

“It’s always easier to distribute food at school – where children are required to be – than at locations around the community,” Olin said. “Historically, we’ve had challenges with children getting the food during summer breaks due to transportation issues, so we’re optimistic that bringing the food closer to them will serve greater numbers of children than in the past.”

“We’re trying to keep our expectations modest for the amount we’ll be able to distribute outside of school,” Olin said. “This is somewhat of a pilot program. We’ll take what we learn this summer and determine how to improve the program next summer or see if we can apply it to other times of the year, such as breaks during the school year.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today