In New York City, 75 percent of public school students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. For some of the city’s most impoverished students, school lunch might be the one the one nutritious meal he or she gets for the day.
But what happens during the summer when school is out? Do these kids just go unfed?
Well, for the last few years, New York City’s Department of Education has operated a summer meal program to make sure no kid goes hungry, Education News reports. And this summer, the Big Apple got a little creative with their delivery methods.
Since June, four brightly colored food trucks have been roaming the city’s five boroughs, feeding healthy breakfasts and lunches to kids under 18-years-old for free.
MORE: This State Is Making Sure No Child Is Ever Denied a School Lunch
These trucks stop at more than 1,000 locations such as pools, schools, libraries, parks, public housing sites, community-based organizations and soup kitchens. Serving healthy, low-fat fare such as blueberry granola, zucchini bread, omelets, bagels, tacos, salad, watermelon and grilled chicken, the trucks have handed out more than 4.4 million summer meals.
The program is sponsored by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Share Our Strength (SOS), an organization working to end childhood hunger in the United States.
“Ensuring the health of our children is our highest priority — and providing them with quality, nutritious meals is central to that,” said New York City mayor Bill de Blasio.
It’s important that no child goes hungry — how can he or she succeed on an empty stomach? As Billy Shore, founder and CEO of SOS said, “Making sure kids get the healthy food they need in the summer feeds more than just their bodies. It feeds their futures….If we want strong, healthy kids who can hit the ground running when school is back in session this fall, we need to make sure they’re getting the nutrition they need this summer. It’s that simple.”
The summer meal program ends in just a couple of weeks — on August 29 — right before the new school year begins. Those interested in finding the location of the nearest truck can text “nycmeals” to 877877.
DON’T MISS: When These Kids Couldn’t Afford a Hot School Lunch, This Hero Stepped Up
Tag: food truck
A Beer Company Focuses on Donations, Not Profits
Walk down any busy street of a city, and you’ll hopefully find a food truck that best fits your appetite. Becoming increasingly popular among urban dwellers, these mobile restaurants serve everything from burgers and fries to tacos and nachos and even lobster rolls.
However, one food truck won’t serve meals to their customers — but they’ll graciously accept them.
Finnegans beer launched their “Reverse Food Truck” in March to help feed the hungry. Their plan? To travel around Minnesota in their green vehicle until October, with the goal of collecting $50,000 worth of cash or credit card donations and non-perishable items. But that’s not all.
According to their Facebook page, the beer company (which sells a blonde ale and an Irish amber) says 100 percent of their profits will go towards feeding the hungry. They also began a social media campaign to keep people in the loop as to where the food truck will be stationed every day, according to ABC News.
The Reverse Food Truck has also created campaigns to increase its donations among passersby. One photo that Finnegans tweeted conveyed the message that you could win free beer for a month if you made a donation.
Jacquie Berglund, CEO of Finnegans, Inc. says the organization is not only pushing to increase its donations, but they are also partnering up with farmers in the area.
“In addition to raising funds, and collecting non-perishables, we’re also supporting local growers to get organic produce to those in need — and we have a lot of farmers in the area!” she tells ABC News. “So the wealth that we create in the community goes back to the community.
In partnership with the Emergency Foodshelf Network’s Harvest for the Hungry Program, Finnegans beer’s Reverse Food Truck has raised approximately 5,700 pounds of produce that’s already been delivered to the hungry.
But even if you can’t run to the Reverse Food Truck in time, you can always make a difference by donating using a virtual food menu. The Finnegans website provides a menu that shows you how much of a difference your gift will make. Donate $10 and you’ve just provided someone with food for five days; donate $100 and you can feed a family of four for two weeks.
How are local patrons reviewing the Reverse Food Truck? “This is a new thing for me, but as soon as I saw it, I came right up and [threw] some money in it,” Jacob Ciuraru told NPR. “A little bit goes a long way sometimes.”
MORE: Food Cowboy: Teaching Truck Drivers ‘Nothing Goes to Waste’
Why This Pastor Continues to Feed the Homeless, Even After the Police Told Him to Stop
Millions of people across the country (about 1 in 6) do not have enough money for a meal. But twice a month for the last six years, Rick Wood, a pastor at The Lord’s House of Prayer in Oneonta, Alabama, has made sure the stomachs in his own community did not go hungry by handing out free hot dogs and bottled water to those in need.
That is, until he was literally stopped by the food police.
As ThinkProgress reports, last month local police stopped Wood due to the city’s food truck law, which meant the pastor had to acquire a pricey permit (that can cost up to $500) in order to continue giving out food. The exact wording of the city ordinance states (per AL.com): “No person or business entity, including religious or charitable organization, shall operate a mobile food vehicle and/or pushcart upon the public rights-of-way within the city without a permit.” Reports say that the law was enacted after local restaurants complained that food trucks were affecting business.
MORE: A Man, His Van and a Mission to Help the Homeless
Wood told ABC 33/40 he wasn’t at all happy with the government’s decision. “I’m just so totally shocked that the city is turning their back on the homeless like this,” he said. “It’s like they want to chase them out of the city. And the homeless can’t help the position they’re in. They need help.”
As ThinkProgress reports, Birmingham’s homeless numbers have gone down in recent years but there are still 1,469 people in the area who do not have a roof over their heads. Wood, who has the Bible verse “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink” etched onto the side of his truck, is not giving up his mission to help feed the hungry. According to a online fundraiser, Wood has already obtained the permit to continue in his good works.