Our Mission:
We exist to ensure that children in our community don't go to bed hungry.
Childhood hunger hurts. It denies dignity, lessens human energy, erodes community stability and impairs the potential of children to achieve. To break this cycle of hunger, Kids Food Basket of Grand Rapids is committed to providing healthy, tasty, efficient and cost effective sack suppers to children who are nutritionally at-risk.
As a community based volunteer organization, our volunteers, ages 5 to 105, come from all walks of life to give their time, talent and treasure to end hunger amongst our children. We seek to provide life sustaining meals to those in need and to silence the pain that hunger brings.
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What We are:
Kids Food Basket is a hunger relief agency in Grand Rapids, MI that provides food insecure children an evening meal each weekday at the end of the school day. The children we serve attend schools where 80% or above of students live at or below the poverty level.
About Kids Food Basket
- A study done by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) from 2003-2005 found that in Michigan, 11.5% of house holds are food insecure and 459,304 children live in povery.
- To thrive, children should consume
between 1,800 and 2,000 calories per day.
- Children who lack adequate nutrition are more likely to have health problems and
difficulty in school. Kids Food Basket
(KFB) is working to attack this social ill in
our community.
- The federal school program that provides
breakfast and lunch to children supplies
around 1,000 calories.
- KFB is the only hunger relief program
working with public elementary schools to
identify and provide additional
nourishment to food insecure children in
Grand Rapids.
- Five years ago KFB started serving sack
suppers to 125 elementary school children
at three schools.
- Currently, KFB provides the sack supper
service to approximately 1,420 elementary
school children at 13 schools.
- We are financed by monetary gifts from
caring individuals and corporations, and
through gifts and grants from foundations
in West Michigan community.
Sack Supper Wish List
- 100% fruit juice boxes
- Granola bars
- Fruit cups and pudding cups
- Cracker packs
- Sandwich baggies
- Brown/white paper lunch bags, 8lb or extra-large
- Individual serving size of cereal and
snacks
We are also looking for sources of large quantities of the following items:
- Carrots
- Bananas
- Apples
Trail Mix Project
Have a large group that wants to help KFB attack childhood hunger? You can collect the ingredients to make a days worth of trial mix and package it yourself. This project is great for schools, businesses, and churches. Call KFB at (616) 235-4532.
Other Ideas
For more ideas for how you can help attack childhood hunger in the community please visit our website www.kidsfoodbasket.org/volunteer
