Invitation to Join KN2E’s Board

Individuals interested in joining the Kids Need To Eat, Inc. (KN2E) board of directors are encouraged to attend the next board meeting.

          What:    KN2E Board Meeting

          When:   Thursday, September 5, 2019

          Time:     4:00 – 5:30 pm

           Where:  El Dorado Civic Center, 201 E. Central Ave.

          Agenda:  Debriefing Kidz Summer LunchBox 2019, and planning the LunchBox 2020.

KN2E’s Board meets about 5 – 6 times each year to organize the LunchBox program. Meetings typically are held in September, November, January, March, and April or May.

In addition to attending meetings, members occasionally communicate by email between meetings.

KN2E is an all-volunteer program with no paid staff. It’s signature program is Kidz Summer LunchBox. During July and early August, our GLOW Bus (“Green LunchRoom on Wheels”) takes free meals to meal sites located where kids live and play.

All children (ages 19 and under) are invited to eat a free lunch on the GLOW Bus, and are then offered additional foods to take home – including a weekend backpack on Fridays.

In addition, KN2E weekend backpack initiative provides backpacks for USD 490 and other school districts to distribute during June and also the first weeks after school starts in mid-August.

For more information, contact KN2E’s president Judie Storandt by email (jgstorandt@msn.com) or by phone or text (405-308-9158).

KN2E is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. To read our recent newsletter: CLICK HERE

Food and Fun at GLOW Bus Meal Sites

Details announced regarding meals and activities at GLOW Bus meal sites.

Starting July 8, kids ages 1 – 18 are invited to eat a free lunch on the GLOW Bus [Green Lunchroom on Wheels] at four meal sites weekdays through Friday August 9.

Alternatively, kids can eat lunch at the Wildcat Cafe sponsored by USD 490 and OPAA! Food Service at Blackmore Elementary School, noon – 1:00 pm weekdays through Friday, August 2.

FOOD VARIETIES

New lunch varieties on the GLOW Bus this summer include sub sandwiches from Subway Restaurant – ham & cheese subs on Mondays, and turkey & cheese subs on Thursdays. On Tuesdays, lunch is a pulled pork sandwich on a bun from Hog Wild BBQ Pit. LockerMate lunches are served on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Mondays – Thursdays kids who have eaten lunch on the GLOW Bus are offered take home foods including fresh fruit and/or veggies, breakfast items, and snacks. Fridays children may take home a weekend backpack after eating lunch.

FUN ACTIVITIES

After eating lunch, kids are encouraged to stay for a variety of activities offered Mondays – Thursdays at meal sites.

At Silverwood Apts. (SW) and Quail Ridge Apts (QR) activities include:

• hippity  hop balls
• Gaga Ball
• various toss and target games
• Food Fun Tuesdays (hosted by Butler County Extension Office)
• Free book days and storytimes
• craft days
• free-play theme days: trucks & cars, dinosaurs, play dough
• Bingo and Guessing games – prizes include one-day swim passes at the City Pool
• water play days
• and much more!

At the Performing Acts Center (PAC), 500 W. Central, music appreciation days feature local talent.  Outdoors games will be offered at the playground across the street. Craft days, books days, etc. will be offered under canopies on the east side of the building.

At Forest Park the city swimming pool is the main activity. On Wednesdays kids who eat lunch on the bus are invited to swim for free using a punch on our pool pass.

Questions?  Contact Judie by phone or text (405-308-9158) or email (KN2E@msn.com).

Anyone who would like to host an activity, including groups of co-workers and others, are welcomed to contact us to volunteer.

2019 Summer Food Options for Kids

All children are invited to eat free lunches this summer at meal sites supported by the national Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) administered by the Kansas Dept. of Education.

No registration is required for SFSP meal sites, and lunches are eaten on site. Anyone ages 1 – 18 are welcome to come eat lunch for free.

The Wildcat Cafe is a new summer meal site for kids sponsored by USD 490 and OPAA! Food Services at Blackmore Elementary School, 530 N. Orchard. Free lunches are served weekdays (Monday – Friday), noon – 1:00 pm, June 3 – August 2.

Details are available online – http://www.ElDoradoSchools.org  – or by contacting the office at any of its schools.

Kidz Summer LunchBox meal sites are sponsored by Kids Need To Eat (KN2E) weekdays, July 8 – August 9. At four meal sites in El Dorado, kids eat lunch on the GLOW (“Green LunchRoom on Wheels”) Bus, and may take home additional foods afterwards.

See www.KN2E.org for details about the four GLOW Bus stops:

• 11:00 – 11:45 am, Silverwood Apts
• noon – 12:45 pm, Performing Arts Center parking lot (500 W. Central Ave.)
• 1:00 – 1:45 pm, Quail Ridge Apts
• 2:00 – 2:45 pm, Forest Park / City Swimming Pool

These institutions are equal opportunity providers.

In addition, USD 490’s popular summer academy has a new name – Camp Pride – and new location at Blackmore Elementary School, 530 N. Orchard. For USD 490 students currently enrolled in grades K-11, campers are assigned to a group cabin to explore fun activities.

Camp Pride is Monday – Thursday during June, 8:00 am – noon. Free transportation is available, and campers enjoy a free breakfast and lunch each day.

 

3 Easy Ways to Help Feed Hungry Kids in our Community!

Many thanks to the donors, volunteers, and other supporters who helped Kidz LunchBox 2018 provide almost 9000 meals to kids this summer – and also donate over 1200 weekend backpacks to schools in Butler County, to fill gaps in the KS Food Bank’s Food4Kids program (which only operates during the school year).

We have already started planning Kidz LunchBox 2019. Here are some easy ways you could help KN2E raise the funding needed for next summer’s meals.

1. Dillons Food Stores CommunityRewards program – support a local charity every time you shop and use your Shopper’s Plus Card. 

• To enroll: visit dillons.com/communityrewards,
• sign into your online account or create an account, scroll down to find your location and click “Enroll Now”, then find and select our organization (“Kids Need To Eat”), or enter our number UB782.

2.  AmazonSmile Foundation. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. 

• Start your shopping at http://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-1803529 or visit smile.amazon.com and search for Kids Need To Eat, Inc.
  
• Bookmark this link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-1803529, and AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of the purchase price when you shop online.
• Then ask others to bookmark this link so all their eligible shopping will benefit Kids Need To Eat, too.

3.  Make a cash donation to Kids Need To Eat (KN2E) online or by mailing a check. CLICK HERE for details.

 

Many thanks to our awesome donors, partners & supporters!

KIDZ SUMMER LUNCHBOX 2018

2018 Champions ($2500 +)

• Cox of Kansas Community Investment
• First Christian Church Foundation
• George Trimble Special Needs Charitable Fund
• United Way of El Dorado

 2018 Patrons ($1000 + )

• El Dorado Charities Auxiliary
• Kansas Health Foundation Fund – El Dorado
• Peter & Judie Storandt

2018 Advocates ($500 + )

• Butler Rural Electric Coop – Operation Round Up
• Dillon Stores Contribution Committee
• El Dorado Building Systems
• First Christian Church, Christian Women’s Fellowship
• Kids FUNd, Central KS Community Foundation
• K.T. Wiedemann Children’s Fund of Butler County
• Reaching Out From Within, EDCF Inmates
• Sophia Berman Molk Foundation
• Walmart of El Dorado

2018 Promoters ($250 + )

• First Baptist Church, Backpack Ministry 
• Grace Lutheran Church, Care Committee

2018 Supporters ($100 + )

• Carlson-Kirby Morris Funeral Home
• Casey’s General Stores
• Crazy Quilters Guild
• Emprise Bank, El Dorado
• First Presbyterian Church
• Kendra Wilkinson
• Kurt & Michelle Spivey
• Lynn & Karen McBride
• Sherry L. Clymer
• Soroptimist of El Dorado
• Stanfield Roofing

2018 IN KIND DONATIONS

• 4Imprint.com
• Alpha Delta Kappa of Butler County
• AmeriGroup
• BG Products
• Butler Community College
• Charley’s Appliances
• Commerce Bank
• El Dorado Parks & Recreation
• El Dorado Chamber of Commerce
• El Dorado Correctional Facility
• Family Worship Center, El Dorado
• First Baptist Church
• First Christian Church
• First Presbyterian Church
• GIV Warehouse
• Mark & Beverly Somerville
• Mears Fertilizer
• Soroptimist El Dorado
• Sunlight Children’s Advocacy & Rights Foundation  (SCARF)
• Trinity United Methodist Church
• United Way of El Dorado
• USD 490, El Dorado Schools
• YMCA – El Dorado
  

 

 

Free Summer Meals continue through August 10 in El Dorado

Kidz Summer LunchBox provides free healthy lunches weekdays at 7 meal sites in El Dorado. The last day is Friday, August 10. Prize drawings for bicycles take place later that day.

The GLOW Bus – a green school bus converted into a mobile lunchroom – takes lunches to six locations. After eating lunch on the Bus, kids are offered take home foods – including weekend backpacks on Fridays. Diapers also are available for children who eat.

In addition to six Bus stops, kids may eat in a traditional lunch room at the Family Worship Center (FWC), 11:30 am – 12:30 pm. Parents, foster parents and other caretakers are welcome to eat lunch with the children they bring.

Wednesday is Free Book Day at Bus Stops – Mondays at the FWC. Spangles lunches are on the menu on Tuesdays.

GLOW Bus Stops

• 10:45 am – 11:15 am: Silverwood Apts.
• 11:30 am – noon:       Skelly Elem. School (west side on S. Arthur St.)
• 12:10 pm – 12:40 pm: Quail Ridge Apts.
• 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm:    Summit Park
• 1:45 pm – 2:15 pm:    Splash Park (North Main Park), on E. 8^th
• 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm: Forest Park (swimming pool), on W. 8^th

For more information visit KN2E.org, or call 316-833-9959.

 

Kids eat a free Lunch at summer meal sites in El Dorado!

Lunch tickets are given to kids each day – the tickets go into a drawing for prizes this summer.

• July 20:  3 gift certificate winners ($25, $20 & $15).
• August 10: two winners get a bicycle appropriate for their age ($100 maximum value with helmet).

• Monday is Parents Day – they may eat with their kids. 
• Monday also is Free Book Day.
• Spangles Tuesdays – kids eat a sandwich from Spangles.
• Fridays kids offered a weekend foodpack to take home.

Kidz LunchBox Kickoff Celebration

Kids Need to Eat (KN2E) invites families with kids ages 18 and under in El Dorado to enjoy a fun family-friendly LunchBox Kickoff!

• What:  Kidz Summer LunchBox 2018 – Kickoff Celebration
• When:  Saturday, June 30, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
• Where:  Family Worship Center, 701 S. Atchison

Come join us to enjoy the following!

• Free lunch
• Inflatable Obstacle Race Course
• D.J. with music and a sing along
• Food Fun activities – Tasting Tables, Nutrition Trivia, and a “Grocery Bag Walk”
• For preschoolers: water games, mini obstacle course, and crafts.
• Outdoor activities and games
• Ice Cream
• Face Painting
• Tour our GLOW Box
• Prizes
• Take Home Items
• Summer Safety resources

QUESTIONS?

• Call or text 316-833-9959

 

 

Volunteers needed to feed kids this summer!

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, civic group, co-workers, family and friends?

Kidz LunchBox 2018 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 2018 will feed children weekdays for six weeks, July 2 – August 10, at seven meal sites in El Dorado (listed below):

• six served by the GLOW Bus, and
• a walk-in meal site at the Family Worship Center (FWC).

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 13 and older.

To submit a Volunteer Registration Form, CLICK HERE.  The deadline to apply is June 16.

NEW THIS SUMMER!!

Kidz LunchBox 2018 Kickoff Celebration —–   A free family-fun day to publicize Kidz LunchBox meal sites, and to share ways to have a safe and successful summer (eat smart, move more & avoid danger).

FRESH MEALS MONDAYS

To add variety to the shelf-stable meals served Tuesday – Friday, kids will enjoy fresh foods for lunch on Mondays – including fresh fruit (e.g., a bag of grapes), fresh veggies (e.g., sliced cucumbers), and a fresh sub sandwich or wrap with meat and cheese.

• We need volunteers to help prepare the lunches on Monday mornings (9:30 am – 11:30 am) at the Family Worship Center.

QUESTIONS?

Call or text Judie at 405-308-9158, connect with us on Facebook – “Kids Need 2 Eat” and “Kidz LunchBox.”

MEAL SITES

Meal site	Volunteer shift	Food service
Silverwood Apts.  [GLOW Bus stop]	10:55 – 11:15 am	10:30 – 11:30 am
Skelly Elem. School [GLOW Bus stop]	11:15 am – 12:15 pm	11:30am – noon
Family Worship Center [walk in meal site]	11:15 am – 12:45 pm	11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Quail Ridge Apts. [GLOW Bus stop]	noon – 12:55 pm	12:10 – 12:40 pm
Summit Park [GLOW Bus stop]	12:45 – 1:45 pm	1:00 – 1:30 pm
Water Park (North Main Park) [GLOW Bus]	1:30 – 2:30 pm	1:45 – 2:15 pm
Forest Park (swimming pool) [GLOW Bus]	2:15 – 3:15 pm	2:30 – 3:00 pm

VISTA Summer Positions

KN2E has two 35-hours a week opportunities in El Dorado for HS graduates. These positions are ideal for those ages 18-24 looking for summer employment. Benefits include a living stipend and education award. The deadline to apply is May 7 has been extended to May 10.

VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) – the domestic equivalent to the Peace Corps – is a national service program sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service to combat poverty in America.

• VISTA flyer – KN2E job opportunities

The summer VISTA program is an opportunity to work for 10 weeks at meal sites offering free meals for children during the summer. This summer, KN2E is sponsoring two VISTA positions:

• VISTA LunchBox Operations Coordinator (position description)
• VISTA Mobile LunchBox Coordinator (position description)

In exchange for their commitment to serve full time for a defined period of time, AmeriCorps gives each VISTA a daily living allowance (total of 70 days for the summer 10-weeks program). In addition, after completing their service, VISTAs have the option of receiving a $1,250 Education Award. A weekly Gas Allowance is available to drive to our El Dorado work sites.

Information about the VISTA program and how to apply to be a VISTA is online: https://www.vistacampus.gov/how-apply-americorps-vista.

The KN2E VISTA positions are 7-hour shifts weekdays. VISTAs filling these positions are allowed to have other time part employment that doesn’t interfere with their VISTA responsibilities.

Activity descriptions for the KN2E VISTA positions are on the AmeriCorps portal: my.americorps.gov. 

Interested individuals are encouraged to contact WSU for more information:

• Meeka Gentry, VISTA Leader, WSU Community Engagement Institute, 316-978-6502, 316-779-4049 (cell), meeka.gentry@wichita.edu

The deadline to apply now is May 10. Applicants must be at least 18 years old by June 1, 2018 to be eligible, and have a H.S. diploma o GED.