Burnet County Hunger Alliance Helping to Create More Summer Meals Sites
The Burnet County Hunger Alliance has partnered with the two Burnet County School Districts, Burnet and Marble Falls, to offer new sites for children to access free lunches during the summer. To make the program a success, they needed to raise just over $7500 to be able to staff a Boys & Girls Club location, pay for mileage reimbursement for delivery of meals, provide some incentive giveaways, outreach signs (permanent), raffle prizes, and gift cards for families.
They were able to secure just over $3,000 from private donations. The Texas Hunger Initiative connected them to a local foundation that does matching grants. Through this connection, they were able to receive the matching dollars they needed to make the new sites a go! Three new sites opened up with volunteer support, full time staff, activities and giveaways for everyone. In addition to child meals, the funding supported 500 paid meals that would be available to parents and other adults – thus they were able to feed “the whole community” at these sites, and include everyone in the family.
Pam Rodgers coordinated these efforts in Burnet County. “The interaction between the children and the volunteers makes a difference in the level of participation,” she said. “We’ve noticed the need for other services…I’m working on securing 50 school backpacks with supplies for the children.” They have built deeper connections to the communities around the new sites, thus creating a deeper understanding of gaps in services and how best to support those families.
Author: Katie Nye - Regional Director, Texas Hunger Initiative – Austin Regional Office
8/15/2018
