Filling Food Gaps for Hungry Kids

Just one mile away from Woodland Hills is Frost Lake Elementary school, home of the Bees!

And now, a new Woodland missional community is volunteering there once a week with Every Meal, a nonprofit working to end child hunger in Minnesota. More than 300,000 children in Minnesota live with food insecurity, and while many receive free or reduced meals at school, there are food gaps outside of that, including weekends, breaks and summer. This is where Every Meal comes in, sending kids home every Friday with backpacks full of food to cover these gaps.

Drew, one of our volunteers said, “Hunger in kids in the richest country in the history of the world shouldn’t be an issue, but it is. Woodland Hills has stepped up with the food shelf which can help, but if a family can’t make it to the food shelf because of work conflicts or transportation challenges, a lack of food can still be an issue. I’m energized by the hour I spend each week at Frost Lake Elementary. The students and staff are vibrant and it’s an opportunity to help in a small way to make sure that kids are getting the energy they need to learn, laugh, and play during the weekend so they can return for another week of school.”

Kevin Callaghan, who leads this group said, “We get to walk the halls of the school and deliver backpacks of food to kids’ lockers, and as we walk we’re also praying for them, for their teachers and for the school. But we are also forming a community with each other as we meet up regularly outside the school to connect socially and spiritually.”

This missional community group currently has six members and needs more volunteers—would you consider joining? It can be as little as once a month, or as often as every week—just one to two hours on Friday morning. If you’re interested, contact Kevin at kcallaghan@whchurch.org!