Summer Meal Kit Program Feeds Sullivan County Students

The Northeastern Regional Food Bank has partnered with the food bank at George Ross Mackenzie Elementary School to bring free breakfast and lunch to students when school is out for the summer. The new Summer Meal Kit Program will provide over 600 students with fourteen meals delivered to their homes weekly.

George Ross Mackenzie Elementary School has been filling the gaps in free food for children for more than a decade through their backpack program. School Nurse, Tracy Whitney, and Guidance Counselor, Michelle Gallo, worked together to ensure that families that rely on the free breakfast and lunch provided by the school were not going hungry on weekends.

George Ross Mackenzie Elementary School’s Nurse, Tracy Whitney, and Guidance Counselor, Michelle Gallo keep the backpack program running throughout the year. (Photo by Rebekah Hendricks)

The program has now expanded with support from Sullivan 180 and the Regional Food Bank. The food bank allows the school to provide more nutritious options to their students including shelf-stable milk and shelf-stable meals. This is critical in Sullivan County where 20% of children face food insecurity.

For Eldred Central School District’s Superintendent, Traci Ferreira, feeding kids is not only about protecting their health, but investing in their future.

“If kids have balanced nutritious meals… they learn more, they read better, they have cognitive skills.” Ferreira said.

The CEO of the Regional Food Bank, Tom Nardacci, expressed how fulfilling it was to provide kids with the sustenance they need.

“If I could pick one thing to do, it would be that,” Nardacci said. “We’re happy to raise awareness. What are kids going to do in the summer? It’s important for us to tell the story. “