IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area | Feeding the Gulf Coast, INC.

04 Oct Feeding the Gulf Coast, INC.

Posted at 17:40h in 2022, Health & Wellness, Nonprofits by Jae Vogei

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FEEDING THE GULF COAST, INC.

FEEDING THE FUTURE

Grant Year: 2022 | Focus Area: Health and Wellness| Grant Amount: $103,820 | Grant Status: In Progress

Working through member organizations and special programs, the mission of Feeding the Gulf Coast, Inc. is to provide nutritious food to meet the challenge of feeding people who are hungry as a result of systemic poverty, personal crisis, or disaster. Feeding the Gulf Coast also educates the public regarding domestic hunger and proper nutrition. Their programs include The Mobile Pantry Program, which executes mobile pantries in low-income, underserved neighborhoods, and rural areas, providing households with enough food to last one week. Their Backpack Program meets the needs of chronically hungry children by providing them with nutritious and easy- to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations to supplement school meals. Their Summer Meals Program and Afterschool Meals Program offer snacks and meals to chronically hungry children when school is out for the summer and during after-school programs, respectively. Their School Pantry Program provides middle and high-school-aged children access to nutritious food and hygiene items. The food bank is also a disaster relief organization, coordinating with FEMA to supply backup generators and emergency supplies such as food and water to ensure the most efficient and timely relief possible.

OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT

The Backpack Program and School Pantry Program do not benefit from federal and state funding and are entirely reliant on obtaining multiple funding sources, including private support and grants. The IMPACT 100 grant will fund the expansion of the Backpack Program and School Pantry Programs in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Grant funds will pay for the startup costs of new Food Pantry locations and will be used for the purchase of supplies to include scales, cabinets, shelving, refrigerators and food to fund these programs during the 2023-2024 school year. The Florida Child Nutrition Programs Manager will contact each school site to verify interest and capacity in participating in the program, provide training to the new schools, and determine the number of children eligible to be served each month. Once the sites are established and the school year has started, the Child Nutrition Programs Team will build food orders based on the number of children to be served at each site. Food will be delivered by Feeding the Gulf Coast to each school on a weekly basis for the entire school year.

EXPECTED IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY

Expansion of the Backpack and School Pantry Programs in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties will establish and sustain 11 Backpack Program sites and 15 School Pantry sites in areas identified as their service area’s most underserved locations. These programs will provide 702 children with food to take home every week. Nourishing children with fresh food through programs that meet them in their schools help to establish stronger, healthier families. According to Feeding America, “Kids who are hungry struggle to concentrate in class and fall behind academically, often lacking the educational foundation for success and livelihood in all areas of life. They also may be more likely to miss school due to illness and suffer from irritability, low self-esteem, or lack of energy.” Child Nutrition staff will work with school administration to track improvements in these areas via periodic surveys. Trends and improvements will be compiled and tracked by academic data and teacher/counselor observations throughout the school year.