Lunch for the Break - Midwinter Break 2020

By Erin Longchari

Winter 2020

Kids count down the days until their next school break - a perfect time to relax, sleep in and hang out with friends.

For parents, however, these long breaks can put additional strain on already tight family finances. Having kids at home all day, all week might mean paying for additional childcare, arranging special activities, and taking care of breakfast and lunches usually provided by the school. Our Lunch for the Break program provides a week's worth of easy-to-prepare breakfast, lunch, and snack foods for school kids, helping to ease any stress around grocery budgets during breaks.

Big changes are underway with our Lunch for the Break (LFTB) program. Instead of parents being handed a prepacked box filled with identical items, families can now “shop” at one of our three partner sites and choose which items they prefer. All of the options typically found in a LFTB box - pasta, cereal, rice, snacks, etc. - are displayed on tables and made available for parents to shop through as they would in a market. A simple – but meaningful – difference, with far-reaching impact.

Here's what we've already learned from these program changes since December's break:

  • Nearly everyone prefers to make their own grocery selections rather than having shopping decisions made for them. 
  • Families get more of the items they need and want – this provides immediate feedback about how best to spend valuable program dollars. 
  • Parents seek a wide variety of healthy, nutritious choices over heavily processed items like mac-and-cheese or canned fruit in heavy syrup.
  • Financial contributions are imperative to our ability to offer high quality, kid-friendly produce options like grapes, berries, and pre-cut veggies, and to fill gaps in our inventory ensuring that every child receives food.

 

     

The new format allows us to continue refining Lunch for the Break food options as we hear back from parents and observe on-site, which items are most popular. Donors still have the choice to shop and pack complete "LFTB shopping kits" (or purchase them from Supply All Kids) to ensure we have enough inventory at each site, but rather than sealing the food in a box, donors simply bring in their full shopping bags and volunteers will arrange items on tables. It's more convenient for donors and a more positive overall experience for participating families and the nearly 400 children benefitting from this program each break. As Lunch for the Break grows and evolves, we continue to rely on the support of our donors as we look for new, supplementary ways to offer high quality, nutritious foods to children and families in our communities. 

Are you able to donate Lunch for the Break shopping kits or make a financial contribution for fresh produce? Visit our LFTB webpage to register as a donor and learn more!