Kidz LunchBox provides summer meals

Many thanks to the Butler County Times Gazette for publishing this awesome article about our new GLOW Bus (“Green LunchBox on Wheels”)!

Click on the green bus to read article.

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GLOW Bus bringing free meals to kids soon!

Kids Need To Eat’s new Green Lunchroom on Wheels – The GLOW Bus – is ready to start taking free meals to kids on July 5, 2017. At 5 bus stops, kids are invited to eat lunch on the bus and then take home extra foods weekdays for six weeks: July 5 – August 11.

GLOW Bus schedule

• 10:00 – 10:45 am    Silverwood Apts., El Dorado
• 11:00 – 11:50 am    Family 1^st Living, Towanda
• noon  –  12:45 pm    H2O Church at 304 Main St., Towanda
• 1:00   –    1:50 pm    Quail Ridge Apt., El Dorado
• 2:00   –    2:45 pm    Forest Park / Swimming Pool, El Dorado

Other Kidz Summer LunchBox 2017 meal sites

• 11:30 am – 1:00 pm   Family Worship Center (FWC), 701 S. Atchison, El Dorado
•  noon – 1:00 pm   The Benton Church, Benton (a take-out site)

This summer KN2E is providing free lunches at its bus stops and the FWC in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), administered by the Kansas Dept. of Education. At SFSP meal sites, sponsors provide free meals to children when school is out for the summer.

Questions?  Contact Judie at 405-308-9158 (cell/text), jgstorandt@msn.com.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Volunteers Needed for Kidz LunchBox 2017

Looking for something meaningful and fun to do this summer? Maybe something you could do with your children or grandchildren – or with your church group, co-workers, or family and friends?

Kidz LunchBox 2017 needs volunteers to help feed kids this summer – to replace meals many kids eat for free at school. Children ages 1 – 18 are invited to enjoy a lunch with us at 7 meal sides, and then take home breakfast and snack foods. On Fridays kids take home extra foods for the weekend.

The LunchBox runs weekdays for six weeks, July 5 – August 11, at meal sites in El Dorado, Towanda, and Benton. Last summer more than 18,000 meals were distributed.

Volunteers assist with: set up, passing out meals, publicity and social media, transporting food, prepping produce, weekly free book days, arts & crafts days, etc.

Volunteers can sign up on a one-time basis, or as frequently as their time and energy permit. Civic and social organizations, youth groups and clubs, and co-workers and others are welcome to volunteer together. Adult volunteers are encouraged to bring children and grandchildren ages 8 and older.

NEW THIS SUMMER!

Our new GLOW Bus (“Green LunchBox on Wheels“) will take meals to where kids live and play.  Kids board the bus to eat their lunch, and then take home breakfast and other foods. There will be five bus stops:

• El Dorado, Silverwood Apts.: 10:am – 10:45 am
• Towanda, Family 1st Living: 11:am – 11:50 am
• Towanda, H2O Church on Main St.: noon – 12:45 pm
• El Dorado, Quail Ridge Apts: 1:00 – 1:50 pm
• El Dorado, Forest Park (swimming pool): 2:00 – 2:45 pm

Questions?  Contact Barbara Day, KN2E Volunteer Coordinator, bday4@cox.net, 316-323-3899 (cell/text).

The deadline to sign up to volunteer is June 19. To print the LunchBox Volunteer Registration Form:  CLICK HERE.

Kidz LunchBox 2017 is a program of Kids Need To Eat, an all-volunteer nonprofit supported by grants and donations, including: United Way of El Dorado, Dillon Stores, El Dorado Charities, George Trimble Trust, Golden Living Center, El Dorado Building Systems, and the Kids FUNd.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Kidz LunchBox holds snacks drive during May.

We are also collecting reusable cloth totes in good condition.

Questions? Please contact Barbara Day, 316-323-3899 (cell/text).

Kidz LunchBox collecting books for kids

Kidz LunchBox is collecting new and gently used books for children and young adults during April.  Books are needed for ages 1 to 18 – including adult books suitable for high school students.  See list of drop off sites below.

Kidz LunchBox is a free meals program for children ages 18 and under during the summer – to replace meals many kids eat for free at school.

Starting July 5 through August 11, 2017, kids are invited to come for free meals weekdays at six meal sites in El Dorado, Towanda and Benton. Details are available online at KN2E.org.

In addition to free meals, kids pick out a book to take home each week. The LunchBox anticipates needing over 1500 books for kids to take home this summer.

 Drop off sites for book donations:

• El Dorado: Chamber of Commerce, 201 E. Central Ave. – weekdays 8:00 am – noon & 1:00 –  5:00 pm
• El Dorado: First Baptist Church, 315 W. Central – weekdays, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Towanda: City Hall, 110  S. Third St. – weekdays, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Benton: Community National Bank, 14500 SW 20th St, – weekdays, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

To have someone to pick up books from your home or office, please call or text Lorraine Maus at 316-323-2823 to make arrangements.

   LunchBox volunteer Lorraine Maus welcomes kids and helps them pick out a book to take home each week.

Opportunities to support summer meals for kids

Opportunities to support Kids Need To Eat (KN2E), sponsor of Kidz LunchBox: Free Summer Meals, include two rewards programs that donate to KIN2E every time you shop.

Dillons Rewards. Dillons will make a donation to Kids Need To Eat, Inc. (N2E) every time you shop if you select KN2E as your charity of choice.

• Visit www.dillons.com/communityrewards 
• Sign in or create a new account.
• Click “Enroll Now” and then enter “Kids Need to Eat, Inc.” (5 digit NPO: 24117)
• Select “Kids Need To Eat, Inc.” and then click “Enroll”

Amazon gives. Support KN2E by shopping at www.smile.amazon.com. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Kids Need To Eat. 

• Sign in with your Amazon ID and password.
• Under the heading “Select a Charity” choose “Pick your own Charitable Organization”.
• In the box, type “Kids Need To Eat, Inc.“

Thanks for helping to feed children in our community during the summer!

Kidz Meals on Wheels planned for 2017

• Kids Need To Eat, Inc. (KN2E) announced plans to expand its popular summer meals program by retrofitting a school bus to take meals to kids in Butler County.

Since 2013 KN2E has distributed free summer meals for kids in El Dorado, and also in Towanda for the past two years. For six weeks in July and early August, kids coming to  LunchBox meal sites pick out meals to eat at home. Meal sites are open weekdays, and on Fridays offer extra meals for the weekend.

This summer the Kidz LunchBox provided over 16,000 meals to a daily average of 174 kids. “The LunchBox helps to replace meals that many kids eat for free at school,” explained KN2E Vice President Barbara Day, “Summer is the hungriest time of the year for many kids from low-income families who depend on school meals for food.”

In order to reach more kids in 2017, KN2E plans to expand this successful program by painting a used school bus bright green, and replacing the seats with cabinets. Kids will enter the Green LunchBox on Wheels (GLOW) bus at the front, walk down the aisle to pick out meals to take home to eat, and exit at the back.

“This is the most feasible and efficient way for KN2E to expand its LunchBox program to help feed more children,” said KN2E Board member Sarah Johnston. “Our vision is to partner with local groups to host meal sites where they are most needed,”

The GLOW Bus will stop for 30 – 40 minutes at various sites in and near El Dorado. Local volunteers will assist with greeting children, lining them up to board the bus, and offering activities and other incentives to encourage kids to come for meals.

Retrofitting a used school bus could cost as much as $55,000. KN2E is seeking business sponsors interested in helping with this one-time expense. For more information, contact KN2E President Judie Storandt, jgstorandt@msn.com, 405-308-9158 (cell/text).

“By connecting kids with nutritious meals where they live and play, they are better able to start the school year ready to learn,” noted KN2E Treasurer Roxann Cool.