by Makiya McNear, Summer Meals Youth Engagement Coordinator
The 2024 Frankfort Independent Schools Summer Meal Distribution program has officially concluded, with Thursday, July 18, 2024 being the last distribution. The final two meal distributions continued on the same trend number-wise as we increased participation each week. Over 430 families participated and we served over 1,000 children. This summer's total number of meals distributed (through weekly distribution and our sites) was 91,085. This consisted of 84,0891 meals through distributions and 6,124 through meal times at our sites. Our sites included Second Street School (YMCA and Frankfort Early Learning Academy), Yes Arts, The King Center, and First Christian Church.
Our weekly meal packs contained a variety of fresh produce. Overall, we served 54,949 servings of fresh produce, 13,050 of which was local produce. Local produce included salad mix, cucumbers, raspberries, pea shoots, squash, zucchini, corn, onion, and apples. The farms this produce was sourced from include Salad Days Farm, Stepping Stone Farm, High Five Farm, and Happy Jack’s Farm. Other fresh produce included oranges, avocados, broccoli, celery, carrots, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, pears, bell peppers, mini sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, and lemons.
As the Frankfort Independent Schools No Kid Hungry Summer Meals Youth EngagementCoordinator, my main role was to communicate with parents and guardians about pickup. Every Monday, I sent out an email reminding families of the pickup window and pick up route that Thursday and letting them know that they had signed up for that week. Every Wednesday, I sent out a reminder email. This email included an educational or technology-free outing opportunity in the community that was free of cost, as well as flyers for events around the community. I also included the pickup information again in this email, as well as our weekly handout in PDF form. The weekly handout was also handed out in paper form on Thursdays. This handout included a list of items in the bag, a recipe that could be produced using the items in the bag, and a spotlight on one of the local farms where we got the local produce from. On Thursdays, we sent out a reminder text around noon to remind families about pickup later that afternoon.
To improve, you have to be open to critiques and evaluations. We wanted to know what families thought about the summer meals distribution, so the Friday after the last distribution we sent out a survey. This survey included a space for families to rate the communication, pickup process, quality of meals, and the variety of meals. The scale for rating was 1 (poor) to 5 (very good), and I am happy to report that in all categories, we scored at least 4.3 / 5. The survey also included a space for families to give written feedback and let us know how impactful this program was. One quote that stood out was:
“I cried when I pulled away from the last meal pick up yesterday. This program has really helped us over the years in more ways than I could ever express. I honestly do not know what we would have done without it. I have a terrible time shopping for food. I work a second job and still come up short when I get groceries. I have to be so careful about what we choose because every dollar is spoken for. I don't feel like I buy as good of food as what we received this summer. I wish I could purchase these bags after the summer because someone shops better and healthier than I do. Kids need healthy veg and fruit but I appreciate the sweets too because it keeps them interested in the bags. There's a wonderful balance of foods. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and made it possible. You make a difference. This program makes a difference. It matters.”
I am thankful to have been allowed to work with the 17 other employees and many volunteers throughout this program. The work done to make this program happen is extensive, but they all make it look easy and have created a seamless process. I would also like to thank NoKidHungry for helping to create my position which has allowed me to work with these people and allow me to be a part of making a difference in a community that has done so much for me.