Feeding Futures: Bridging the Food Insecurity Gap
What is food insecurity?
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), food insecurity is having inconsistent, uncertain, or insufficient access to food. Food insecurity disrupts the intuitive eating cycle that food-secure households are able to maintain, where one is able to eat what their body needs, when they need it. For those living in a food insecure household, sufficient portion sizes are not guaranteed, and access to additional food may be sporadic or inconsistent.
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"More than four in five food-insecure households with school-age children receive free or reduced-price school lunches."
What is free and reduced lunch?
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally supported program that aims to provide eligible students with no-cost (free) or low-cost (reduced) meals in public and nonprofit private schools. Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch are eligible based on family income and/or housing status (homelessness, foster care, etc.).
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Our Plan to Bridge the Food Insecurity Gap
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In addition to participating in the free and reduced lunch program, Garrett County Public Schools (GCPS) provides food for qualifying students over the summer. However, since GCPS does not provide weekend meals during the school year, Feeding Futures is designed to bridge the gap between Friday and Monday by providing weekend snacks and meals for students who receive free or reduced lunch.
We have a pilot program lined up for the 2024-2025 school year for 100 students at an elementary school in Garrett County. Following a nutritionist-developed meal plan, these students will receive two meals and two snacks for each weekend day. In addition to following nutritionist-recommended health guidelines, these food items will be shelf-stable items that don't require additional ingredients to prepare, such as instant oatmeal and pasta. These food items will be purchased in bulk, packed by volunteers, and delivered to our pilot school for distribution every Friday.
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With the help of generous supporters who are willing to donate their time as well as donating financially, we aim to extend this program to other schools and students in Garrett County.
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The Meals Provided
