“If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.” – Buzz Aldrin

As one of the first two humans to leave his footprints on the moon, Aldrin knows that no mission is impossible…regardless of the odds. Today, one in five children in the St. Louis region struggles with hunger. A staggering 56% of our city residents are low-income and have low access to healthy food, impacted by limited healthy stores, transportation, nutritional knowledge and affordability. Overwhelming statistics, but not insurmountable.

We’ve been fortunate to work alongside two leaders in fighting hunger in the bi-state region – Operation Food Search (OFS) and St. Louis Area Foodbank – to bring emergency and healthy food options to students and families. With better nutrition, students are better able to learn, have fewer absences and improved behavior in the classroom. “That’s the logical reasoning, but ultimately, it’s about seeing a child hungry and not turning away,” says Alex Goodfellow, Little Bit’s Director of Program Partnerships and Strategic Planning.

Since first partnering in 2012, we have disseminated more than 117,000 food kits assembled by OFS, each of which includes nutritious, ready-to-eat foods. Goodfellow explains that students who qualify for federal food programs will receive breakfast and lunch during school days, but may not eat again until the following morning. “This way, they have nourishment while they’re trying to complete homework and get a good night’s sleep,” she says.

Our collaboration with the Foodbank – which has included monthly mobile food markets that bring fresh produce, dairy and bakery items to families free of charge in a handful of our school communities – recently expanded with two pilot programs. Last month, we began distributing meal boxes each week to families of St. Louis Public School (SLPS) students attending summer school at Farragut Elementary. Each box prepared by the Foodbank contains food kits to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for a family of four for two days and also includes recipe cards, books for summer reading and information about other community resources. “One parent broke down in our arms because she had no food left for the weekend, and there we were with meals for her whole family. It’s humbling,” says Goodfellow.

Nutrition education is as important as access and will be an emphasis of the second pilot initiative with the Foodbank, says Goodfellow. “When healthy food items aren’t readily available, you might not know how to prepare them or incorporate them into your diet,” she says. Beginning in the next school year, we will open wellness hubs at two SLPS schools – Ashland Elementary and Yeatman-Liddell Middle School. Funded by Cigna, the hubs will be open to parents and the older students during school hours, and not only be stocked with fresh food items, but also recipes and guides on topics such as shopping on a budget.

“These hubs are another way we are meeting needs where they are, and involving the family in nutrition education is an extension of our mission to create positive, healthy learning environments for our students,” says Goodfellow.