Racing Into Spring Break with Holiday Helpings

For many kids, Spring Break is a welcome hiatus from the classroom, but for food insecure children who rely on the school cafeteria as their primary source of nutrition, it can be a period of anxiety and hunger. One in six children in Clark County live in food insecure households. There are approximately 300,000 students in the Clark County School District, and about 50,000 of those children are at risk of missing meals when not in school.

As part of its mission to alleviate malnutrition and hunger in children, Chefs for Kids aims to help combat this issue through the Holiday Helpings initiative. Last weekend our volunteers were hard at work stuffing 120 grocery bags with fresh fruits, nutrition education materials, and a $50 grocery gift card which were then delivered to the 12 schools we support. Each school identified and distributed the bags to 10 families who are most at-risk of not having any food during the school break. 

We want to give a heartfelt thank you to the family of the late Chef Brett Blitz who in a time of personal tragedy was able to raise more than $5,000 to support our mission thanks to generous in-memoriam donations from friends, family, and colleagues. Chef Brett’s family also rolled up their sleeves and helped stuff the Holiday Helpings bags. Your support means the world to us and the 120 families that will now have access to healthy foods during Spring Break.

The bags were filled with apples, bananas and SunButter to make .Additionally, we’re grateful to Speedway Children’s Charities who has provided many grants throughout the years to partially underwrite this initiative. This month with NASCAR in Las Vegas, we presented a race-themed handout that included a “Red Light, Green Light” game to encourage physical exercise. The grocery bags were filled with apples, bananas and SunButter, checkered flag toothpicks, and instructions to make these super cute Crunchy Cruisers. 

We were racing to expand the Holiday Helpings initiative to include fresh produce in the bags for Spring Break and kuddos to the Sprouts Farmers Market team on Silverado Ranch for the quick turnaround to make this happen! Your support means the world to us and the 120 families that will now have access to healthy foods during Spring Break.

Want to get in on the nutritious fun? We’ve made the handout available online! 

As we enjoy the warmth and renewal that Spring brings, let’s not forget the children who may be struggling to find their next meal. Spring Break should be a time of joy and possibility for all children, regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances. By prioritizing food security, we can make this vision a reality. Make a difference by making a donation today!