Summer Food Service at FoodChain
The summer of 2019 was FoodChains first time being a location for the Summer Food Service Program! Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) works to lessen the burden on food insecure families who need to feed their children (and themselves) when school is out of session. Last year each meal was made from scratch and used 1,013 lbs of local fruits and veggies purchased directly from local farmers! As part of our participation in the 2019 Summer Food Service Program, last summer, we served 1,184 freshly cooked meals out of our kitchen, 933 of those was to youth while 251 went to adults working in the program, parents, interns and volunteers!
Supporting Local Farmers To Feed People!
Each meal was made fresh, from scratch and used 1,013 lbs of local fruits and veggies purchased directly from local farmers. All of this was possible because of the incredible work of our partners at Feeding KY, who run the Ky Kids Eat program, providing cost sharing incentives for Summer Food Service Providers to purchase straight from KY farmers and provide more nutritious whole foods to children who are living in areas that experience food insecurity. This allowed us to also prioritize local proteins such as pastured, farm raised eggs, chicken, sausage, and ground beef.
Additionally, for this program, FoodChain was able to employ four graduates from our food sector job training program for a total of 408 hours during which they freshly prepared each day’s meal. Many of the graduates’ children were also attending and helped with some of the prep and then hanging out to cook for themselves in our Summer Cook.Eat.Grow. Program.
This past summer provided many opportunities to partner with community organizations, both by providing meals to summer camps like Community Inspired Solutions and the West End Community Empowerment Project and by working with other educational non-profits to provide enrichment activities during the hours of food service! We partnered with Seedleaf, Sisohpromatem Art Foundation, Black Soil: Our Better Nature, the Carnegie Center, and the International Book Project.
Summer Feeding In 2020
Because of COVID-19, we are changing up how SFSP will work this year, so that it will be healthier and safer for all involved. With to-go meals and snacks and interactive curriculum. If you are interested in learning more about how this program works, how you can be a part of healthy, hearty, whole foods for children while they are out of school, please contact help@foodchainlex.org. This is also a great opportunity to volunteer or intern!