A Successful First Year with Food for Thought

Food for Thought, the newest program of Park View Community Mission, was created in response to the hunger crisis facing the children of central Virginia. Our mission is to enable hungry children to learn, by meeting their most basic need, nutritious food. Our key partners include the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Liberty University, Lynchburg City Schools, as well as local government, area churches, community organizations and concerned citizens.  Each week, Food for Thought serves hundreds of area students who leave school on Friday, not knowing where or when they will get their next meal. Prior to leaving school on Friday afternoons, students are provided with a bag containing a minimum of 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners, 2 servings of vegetables and 4 snacks. The meals are kid-friendly, easy to prepare, and nonperishable. Bag contents are standardized for all students, with the exception of those with dietary restrictions due to food allergies. We prepare several types of specialty bags to meet the needs of these students. Bags are distributed as confidentially as possible, with an emphasis placed on respecting each student’s privacy and integrity. Our dream for Food for Thought is that no local child goes without nutritious food over the weekend; no child is turned away. It is hard to learn when you are hungry, and even harder to succeed. Food for Thought is committed to providing quality, nutritious food to any child in need, whether that need has been identified by their school, their parent, or by the child himself. The link between nutrition and health is well established. Malnourished children are sick more often, and more likely to be hospitalized when ill. They have a higher rate of absenteeism from school, and an increase in behavioral and social problems. By consistently providing healthy weekend food, Food for Thought is positively impacting the health of the students we serve.

Volunteers congregate weekly at Food for Thought to pack bags, assembly line style. During our first year, well over 2,000 volunteer hours were logged by people ranging in age from 3-85. The hard work and dedication of our volunteers has enabled the Food for Thought program of Park View Community Mission to send home 15,236 bags of nutritious meals and snacks with local food-insecure children.  Summer break can be devastating for food insecure children and their families who rely on school-provided breakfast and lunch throughout the school year. Food for Thought has continued to serve these students, providing weekend bags of food to up to 750 students each week. Since June 1, we have distributed approximately 26,000 meals through the 38 local summer feeding sites, which included 14 school programs and 24 community locations. We provided an additional 30,000 snacks to other area students through local summer day programs. Food for Thought is committed to providing nutritious weekend food to area children, so they may achieve their potential. Hunger does not take a vacation, so neither did we. We are grateful for the 300 summer volunteer hours logged, which enabled us to serve our community.

Food for Thought has had a profound impact on the lives of hundreds of local families, and has created a real awareness of hunger and poverty in our area. The program is breaking down long held perceptions about those living in poverty, and is bringing people together in an effort to diminish the effects of hunger on children. Though food alone cannot solve the problems of poverty, it is necessary for ensuring the physical, emotional, and mental well-being required for students to perform well in school. This, in turn, is crucial to their future success and ability to earn a living wage, the key to escaping hunger and poverty.  FFT is a strong, sustainable, program dedicated to ensuring every child has healthy food to eat over the weekends. The program is a tremendous success, providing not only nutrition, but also weekend food security and stability where it previously did not exist. Please join us in this powerful work. The need is tremendous, and so is the reward.

‌	Will you make it your mission to help us with ours? Yes! I will donate today

to volunteer text: helpPVCM to ( 760) 670-3130 to donate to our cause text: givePVCM to ( 760) 670-3130