We all know how important a nutritious meal can be for our students and their learning.

“Study after study shows that kids who eat breakfast function better,” Dr. Schneider says. “They do better in school, and have better concentration and more energy.” (The Case for Eating Breakfast, Healthychildren.org)

But what happens to our students over the summer when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available? And what about that last meal of the day?  

I recently visited Kids’ Food Basket with some friends and our children. During our visit we learned that 1 in 5 Michigan kids are affected by hunger.

Kids’ Food Basket nonprofit organization is attacking childhood hunger to help young people learn and live well.  They began over 10 years ago by serving 125 kids each school day through a Sack Supper program and now they serve nearly 7,500 kids each weekday in West Michigan.

The purpose of our visit was to volunteer some time helping Kids’ Food Basket create sack suppers. But during this time, I felt that we learned a lot about nutrition and our community.  We left feeling like we really made a difference.

There are other programs that also help students find nutritious meals over the summer. The Michigan Department of Education has created a site locator to help ensure that children of lower-income areas could continue to receive nutritious meals during the long summer break.

Click here to visit Meet Up and Eat Up where you can locate sites near you!

I highly encourage you to get out and volunteer at one of these places.  It is a very rewarding experience.