Depending on the survey you look at, either 1/6 or 1/10 children in Utah are food insecure. This really bothers my husband and I. We would GLADLY pay more taxes to have every child get free lunch at school to ensure that they get at least one nutritious meal a day.
In 2020 one of our family members (who is a lunch lady at a local school) was worried about a large family she knew and we decided to put together a meal box for their family for Thanksgiving. She didn’t want them to know she was involved so the rest of us dropped off the food. It was fun for us and a blessing for them.
Just for information. . . my hubs and I are both good at organizing large events and have been involved in many types of humanitarian projects over the years. We realized that our family was growing and we could do more. Here is how this project actually started.
In 2022 my husband decided that we needed to make sure our children were teaching their children to be civic-minded. That year we put together 25 meal boxes and they were delivered to local families. We got started late on the project and did our best to shop sales but the turkeys were expensive.
We stepped up to 50 boxes in 2023 with a matching grant from my husband’s business. The business also started doing the project. This year we also did meals for 50 families. Now we start in August looking for sales on canned goods and gravy packets. We have a lot of freezer space because of our large family, but we added a freezer this year to store all the birds.
Interestingly enough, the hardest part of this project is getting the boxes to the people in need. We have 3 family members who work at elementary schools, so each of those schools received boxes. I was amazed that one of the principals showed up last night to help fill boxes.
Let’s be clear here- I have been gone for WEEKS and my husband did all the leg work on this project. He bought the food, found the boxes, organized the family and found places that needed the boxes. He shopped the sales and figured out how to use online shopping to his advantage: the limit of 2 turkeys at sale price was only IN the store . . . if you ordered online you could get 10! He is truly an amazing human being.
Here is what is in the boxes:
1 Foil Turkey Roasting Pan
1 Turkey
1 Box of Stuffing
2 packets of gravy
5 pounds of potatoes
2 cans of corn
1 pound of butter
1 can of green beans
1 apple pie
We know that not everyone can do a project like this, but with a little planning and foresight you could help one family. Or you can make some cookies and deliver them to a neighbor. Or you can pay $25 on a child’s lunch account. Every kindness matters.