Each week for the last 15 years, about 10 volunteers would pack a bag with shelf stable, single serving food like, an oatmeal pack or a cup of pasta they could microwave as well as some snacks like granola bars.
The bags would be dropped off at the elementary schools within the School District of Rhinelander for students in need to take home with them on Fridays.
The school district would manage the pick ups and which kids would receive them.
The Weekend Food for Kids Program has helped fill the nutritional needs of elementary students until they’re back in school on Monday and provided meals.
Programs like this are a staple in many communities. Studies have shown they go beyond keeping kids from going hungry, they also improve educational outcomes.
Rhinelander Area Food Pantry Executive Director Courtney Smith calls the program in Rhinelander successful. There’s been a lot of discussions this summer about how it could be more successful.
“There's some unintentional singling out of students. It can be a wasteful model we've also found,” said Smith. “We're really looking towards food security as it's not just an issue for a child in a household, it's a household issue.”
Smith says sometimes the bags would be forgotten on the bus, the single serving food tends to be more costly and sometimes ultra processed, and it puts the responsibility on the child rather than the adult.
Inspiration for how this program could be reimagined partly came from the Hodag Food Wagon Program.
The Hodag Food Wagon offers free weekly meal bags for kids and teens available for pick up July through August.
While the summer meal program has been going on for five years, this was the first year it was funded through the Department of Public Instruction and run out of the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry.
There’s no registration and no requirements other than there needs to be kids in the household 18 or younger.
“We have seen the power of children and their adults participating in a meal bag program through our summer program. It's pretty powerful to see how positive kids feel and how positive adults feel,” said Smith. “This is a win for our community, I think, and just the opportunity to make some mistakes, to grow, to learn some things, and to ultimately come out better in the end.”
A new approach
The new Hodag Monster Meals program will be a monthly food distribution.
Like the previous program, there will be no income requirements, families just need to have children in their household age 18 or under.
More than a fourth of households in Oneida County fall in the ALICE thresholds. These are families that have working adults that make more than the poverty level, but still not enough to make ends meet.
To be eligible to shop at the food pantry outside of this program, a household of four needs to make no more than $5,200 a month.
“This program is a supplemental on top of our pantry services, so those folks that can shop at the pantry, great, shop at the pantry, use the monthly meal back program, and those households that don't qualify to shop at the pantry now have some nutrition support that's stable and that they can rely on,” said Smith.
Instead of single servings, each bag will come with easy to prepare kid-friendly foods and snacks, fresh milk and produce, and staples for the cupboards.
Each meal bag will also come with a quick, healthy meal for adults and kids to prepare together.
“We'll throw in some fun nutrition education, but also a recipe just to encourage again, that healthy relationship with food, having that time to sit down together and enjoy a meal,” said Smith.
The program is funded by donations.
Even though the meal bags will now include more nutrient-dense and perishable food, Smith says she expects the cost to come out about the same.
“We're saving money by, you know, instead of four cups of cereal over the month individual servings, we can actually give them a box of cereal,” said Smith. “It really is going to have a greater impact on the value of our money and as well as our buying power as a food pantry.”
Smith says there was a lot of feedback from families, the school district, and other partners that lead to the pantry trying this new model.
“If we can give households access to really nutritious food that makes a large impact on their budget, puts a box of cereal in their cupboard and a jar of peanut butter in their cupboard and milk in their fridge— our money, our efforts, and our work can go much further,” said Smith, “And, we're giving households autonomy and dignity in service.”
Pickups will be the third Thursday of each month from September through June. The first pick up is Thursday, September 18th from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry.
Kids either need to be with the adult picking up the food or adults can show proof they’re providing for children to pick up the bags. It’s first come, first serve.
You can learn more about Hodag Monster Meals program on the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry website or by contacting the pantry.
