OUR MISSION STATEMENT
“Our mission is to reduce childhood hunger… Feeding hungry children on the weekend, so that on Monday morning, teachers can feed their minds.”WHAT IS FOOD 4 KIDS ST. TAMMANY?
FOOD 4 KIDS ST. TAMMANY (F4KST), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization (status pending), has been intentionally designed to work in conjunction and collaboration with area schools to identify children that are nutritionally “at risk”. F4KST then provides nutritional sustenance for those children at the end of each school week. The items sent home with the children are provided for those who have a limited or uncertain availability of food. F4KST assures each child and their family the dignity of anonymity while striving to relieve hunger. Food 4 Kids St. Tammany delivers comprehensive programs in the following areas: Feeding/Nutrition, Academic Development, Personal Development, Financial Literacy and Community Engagement/Development.
Food 4 Kids St. Tammany has been operating as an independent and autonomous organization since November 2019 with the hope to continue to expand its operation beyond the 100 students it currently serves in St. Tammany Parish as of February 2020.
We are always in need of donated items from our WISH LIST; donated funds to help us purchase items from our wish list ourselves; and volunteers to help us collect donations, bag the food, and make weekly deliveries. See our “HOW YOU CAN HELP” page to learn more.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
OUR HISTORY
Food 4 Kids St. Tammany grew out of a 2019 Leadership Northshore (LN) project. Leadership Northshore is a community service and leadership program that was started in 1981, as a mean to educate and train future leaders on the resources and needs of St. Tammany Parish. Each year, LN participants spend nine months learning about the non-profit organizations, economic development, social services, local government, education, law enforcement, health care and natural environment of St. Tammany Parish. As a part of their leadership training, the “students” are required to create community projects that bring a sustainable benefit to St. Tammany Parish citizens. Past projects have included: Bring it Home Northshore; the Slidell Fishing Pier; the playground at Heritage Park; the Camellia City Bark Park; the Slidell Pelicans on Parade; and the Camellia City Kid’s Fun Fest – just to name a few.
Food 4 Kids St. Tammany was the project chosen by the leadership team of Lisa Abshire, Stacey Boerner, Alan Parker, Matt Parish, Anabel Baltrukevich, and Chiquita Lattimore. After successfully completing the project during Leadership Northshore, Lisa, Stacey and Alan decided to keep the project going by partnering with Joey’s Hope NOLA, a non-profit who had been feeding children successfully in the New Orleans area for 8 years.
WE HONOR AND SUPPORT JOEY’S HOPE NOLA
Joey’s Hope NOLA was founded to honor the life and service of USMC Sgt. Joseph A. Bovia, who lost his life while following God’s call to serve in Afghanistan during his third overseas tour. If you were fortunate enough to know him, you’ll remember how much he loved children. In his memory, his family and friends began collecting food items to send home with hungry school children. Many children eat free breakfast and lunch at school, but go home to empty pantries at night and on the weekends. Donations to Joey’s Hope NOLA and Food 4 Kids St. Tammany, allow us to fill bags full of kid-friendly food items each week to send home with those children identified as being in need.
We live in the greatest country on Earth, and just as Joey fought to keep it free, let’s fight to make sure freedom includes keeping our nation’s children fed.
