Meals for Minds: An After School Pantry for Students Struggling with Hunger

WHO:             Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin

and Target

WHAT:          Meals for Minds after school pantry

WHEN:          Thursday, October 20, 2011

      3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE:       Forest Home Elementary

                    1516 W. Forest Home Avenue, Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee, Wis. – Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin has partnered with Target to create Meals for Minds, an innovative after school pantry that provides students and their families the resources to succeed in school. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is organizing monthly distributions from September through May at Forest Home Elementary School. Each student enrolled at Forest Home Elementary will receive a bag filled with about 25 pounds of food, including fresh produce, frozen meat, canned goods, water and snacks. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin will provide a variety of food each month for the children’s families while providing them with crucial nutrition education.

 Proper nourishment allows children to concentrate and excel in the classroom. Since 2001, Target has awarded Feeding America programs nationwide with grant money in order to make this event possible. 330,000 people rely on Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin each year, 105,000 of whom are children. Programs like Meals for Minds are an essential part of a child’s education.

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330,000 people in Wisconsin rely on food supplied by Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.  The food bank is the largest, private, non-profit distributor of food in the state. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin distributes over 15 million pounds of food annually to 1,000 food pantries, meal programs and shelters throughout the state.  Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is affiliated with Feeding America which is consistently ranked as one of the most efficient charities, out of the country’s 100 largest charities, by Forbes magazine.  Since 1982, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin has distributed more than 280 million pounds of food.  To learn more about hunger in Wisconsin, log onto www.feedingamericawi.org.