United Way of Palm Beach County’s Hunger Relief Plan, launched and approved by the Palm Beach County Commission a little over a year ago, has helped to improve the lives of 767 food-insecure children.
The Jim Moran Foundation has awarded funding for a Weekend Feeding Program that will provide nutritious meals for kids on Saturday and Sunday, so they can return to school Monday morning ready to learn. The gift of $556,690 is a three-year commitment that will ensure a long-term, positive impact.
These elementary-school students in Belle Glade and Wellington are served by the school district’s free or reduced-fee lunch program during the week but, until now, had no guarantee of a full meal on the weekend.
The Weekend Feeding Program, a collaboration between the United Way of Palm Beach County, the Pan-Florida Challenge and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, is a direct result of the Hunger Relief Plan.
A committee focused on childhood hunger, led by Vice President of Hunger Relief Danielle Hanson, discovered that some children went hungry over weekends and went to work to find a charity partner and food distributor that would deliver meals to the children in need.
The collaboration caught the attention of the Jim Moran Foundation. “The Weekend Feeding Program is one of five special grants we funded to honor what would have been my husband’s 98th birthday,” said Jan Moran, chairman and president of the foundation. “I know making sure children and families had enough to eat would be close to Jim’s heart.”
Effective immediately, “PFC Super-Power Packs” with kid-friendly and nutritious food items, will be delivered to the Boys & Girls Clubs school-based sites at Canal Point, Glade View, Gove, Rosenwald and Belle Glade elementary schools, and the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club in Wellington, to be handed out every Friday afternoon.
One six-serving package of a nutritious meal from Meals of Hope is also included so that the entire family eats healthy all weekend long, as well as during holiday breaks.
“We don’t feed kids to stop hunger pains. We believe we hold a rare opportunity to lift children up out of generational poverty through creating access to their education by feeding them. The problem is local, right here in our back yards,” said Ed Mullen, president, chairman and founder of the Pan-Florida Challenge. “We are proud to partner with the United Way of Palm Beach County and the Jim Moran Foundation to feed 767 ‘empty refrigerators’ for three years in the Glades and Wellington.”
An estimated 210,000 Palm Beach County residents are food-insecure, and 64,000 of those are children. United Way Hunger Relief work groups are continuing to look at other issues related to childhood and senior hunger, infrastructure and logistics, and building a new food distribution center in Belle Glade.
“This generous gift will enable these children to learn and thrive in school, instead of worrying about when their next meal will come,” United Way CEO Dr. Laurie George said.
ABOVE: Kids on the free or reduced-cost lunch program receive backpacks filled with nutritious foods.
