Blasting Off Into Summer
June 4, 2025
School’s out for Summer, but we couldn’t let the school year end without reaching out to our schools one last time before the break. We made one final visit to all 12 Chefs for Kids schools for the 24-25 school year, this time to deliver bags of fresh produce and summer fun activities.
This was part of part of our Holiday Helpings initiative where we aim to provide healthy snacking and mealtime opportunities to families who may otherwise go without food during school breaks. We work with school counselors and staff to identify 10 of the most in-need families at each school we support. These families receive a bag of fresh produce to create some fun food art while eating healthy, a $50 grocery store gift card to supplement their home pantries, and nutritional education materials such as recipes, tips on how to shop seasonally to save money, etc. As a majority of the population we serve is hispanic, our handouts are provided in both English and Spanish.
This time around we added some new Healthy Eating Heroes from Plus Credit Union to help us with all the prep work. We gathered at their credit union offices to prep the bags for delivery, with assistance from some of their staff of course.
The morning was filled with fun and laughter as we got to know each other and make new friends. We listened to the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack as we packed the bags full of fresh produce to make an out-of-this world spaceship scene. Included in each bag was a rainbow of fresh fruits and vegetables to help the students blast-off into summer fun including: A rocket ship made of strawberries, bananas, and purple (black) grapes; a sweet potato for the sun; yellow squash moon; an earth made from zucchini; radish stars; and blueberries for space matter.
Exploring fruits and vegetables in a fun environment doesn’t only have a positive effect on the students we serve… One volunteer said “Honestly this is making me want to eat more fruits and vegetables,” and we’re all in favor of anyone increasing their healthy produce consumption!
That wraps up the school year for us, but we’ll be back next year! We hope you will join us. Over the summer we’ll be putting together a list of volunteer opportunities for the next school year. If you’re interested in joining us for our next Holiday Helpings prep day or any other initiatives, email us to be added to the volunteer list!
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