Catholic Charities Delivers Farmers to Families Food Boxes to Farmworkers

Catholic Charities of Oregon is partnering with the Archdiocese of Portland and Pacific Coast Fruit to provide Farmers to Families food boxes to their local farmworker communities, including within their own farmworker housing. Every week, Catholic Charities delivers over 500 boxes of food and hygiene products to farmworkers and other community members across four counties who have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 crisis in Oregon. By delivering boxes directly, they are able to support social distancing and quarantine efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among some of their most vulnerable neighbors. 

Read more about USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program here.

4-H Program Helps Supplement Summer Meals with Farm Fresh Eggs

Before school was cancelled for the year, the Fauquier County 4-H program in Virginia had already planned to offer a Poultry Service Learning Project in which youth would raise chickens to provide extra protein sources to local food pantries.  Despite the school closure, 4-H youth still raised their layer hens at home and donated the eggs to food pantries, who then put them in “Power Packs."  The "Power Packs" include unprepared foods like eggs, vegetables, and shelf-stable food products and are accompanied by a healthy recipe that ties all the ingredients together.  The “Power Packs” supplement USDA-sponsored summer meals, which are given out at Grab and Go sites or directly delivered to families via a volunteer system.   

Pictured: A Fauquier 4-H Youth feeds her chicken as part of her Poultry Service Learning Project. 

Salvation Army Provides Summer Meals to Children Safely and Conveniently 

The Salvation Army Kroc Center in San Diego has been providing USDA summer meals for children under 18 years old utilizing a Grab and Go model. Each Monday through Friday, families drive through from 10:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. to pick up a meal pack for each child from their masked & gloved team. The meal pack includes a nutritious lunch for that day and a breakfast for the next morning.  In addition, on Fridays, the children receive an additional lunch for Saturday. They have waivers displayed for parents with children not in vehicles. Parents have six different forms of verification documents they can show and this information is communicated to them ahead of time. The center plays music, greets the families, and sometimes their mascot RJ the crocodile comes out to join in on the fun.   

Learn more about the Child Nutrition waivers here. 

Seattle Job Training Provider Partners with Seattle Public Schools to Provide Dinner to Families

FareStart is a non-profit and SNAP Employment & Training provider that transforms lives through job training in its restaurants and teaches work and life skills needed in the food service industry.  FareStart has partnered with Seattle Public Schools to provide made-from-scratch dinners to families who come to pick-up free summer meals at their schools.  To date, FareStart has provided more than 500,000 meals to the community by providing dinners at summer meals distribution sites.

Learn more about FareStart's COVID-19 response here. 

Tennessee School District Uses School Buses to Deliver Meals Directly to Children

The Unicoi County School District has been providing meals to all children under age 18 on bus routes and Grab and Go meals at their elementary schools during school closure for the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have such a need in our county and are so glad of the USDA waivers so we can make sure no child goes hungry during this pandemic. It was a little overwhelming in the beginning but so many wonderful school staff pitched in to help our school nutrition team to make this successful. All of the summer activities were canceled in our county and we are so thankful the USDA waivers were extended so we can continue feeding the children through the summer," says Maggie Fair, Food Service Supervisor at Unicoi Schools.  

No Kid Hungry Highlights Local Hunger Heroes Across the Country

In May, Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign said a big “thank you” to the champions that have emerged amidst the coronavirus pandemic, as schools, food banks, and community organizations stepped up to find innovative ways to safely feed kids while schools are closed. From commemorating School Lunch Hero Day in Virginia, announcing a “League of Hunger Heroes” in California, to celebrating those on the frontlines in Louisiana, and saying “A Big Texas Thank You” – No Kid Hungry and its partners all across the country thanked the school nutrition staff and others working on the front lines every day to make sure kids in their communities are fed during this crisis.  

Macomb Intermediate School District Feeds Their Students in Time of Need

The Macomb Intermediate School District (MISD) in Michigan serves special needs students ages 3 through 26 throughout Macomb County.  When school closed in mid-March, the students began receiving meals directly at their homes through the Unanticipated School Closure Summer Food Service Program.  Seven school buildings are used as food hubs, where meals are packaged for 2 or 3 days at a time and then sent on nearly 100 bus routes in thermal coolers to ensure students have access to breakfast and lunch seven days a week.  It takes a team effort of over 250 MISD staff.  MISD serves approximately 17,000 meals weekly, and will continue with the traditional Summer Food Service Program for the months of July and August so students can receive nutritious meals direct to their homes.

Catholic Charities in New Orleans Combines SNAP Application Assistance with Food Distribution

As a community partner for the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans has integrated SNAP application assistance with food distribution programs in urban and rural communities.  They have experienced an increase in the total individuals needing application assistance and anticipate the trend to continue. 

Boys & Girls Club of Delaware Adapts to Site Closures

When the pandemic resulted in club sites across the state being temporarily shut down, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware shifted and expanded their focus to ensure at-risk children and those vulnerable to COVID-19 – including homeless, elderly and disabled individuals – would receive healthy meals. The organization is partnering with Delaware Health and Social Services to identify and provide meals for high needs locations throughout Sussex County. Already an approved USDA summer meals/afterschool meals site with self-prep kitchens, the non-profit applied for and was approved for TEFAP to support their efforts. They have also reached out to provide meals to local police departments and hope to do all they can to help feed frontline workers.