A University of Central Florida LEAD Scholars class is partnering with Feeding Children Everywhere to package nutritious meals for children at Central Florida schools.
Students are invited to join the LEAD Scholars from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in the Student Union to help pack the meals.
The meal packages will include lentils, rice and dehydrated vegetables. These ingredients are important because they specifically address the health issues commonly associated with malnutrition.
Throughout the semester, students in professor Brad Crawford’s LEAD class have been raising money to buy ingredients for the meal packages. Each student in the class has contributed to the effort by contacting local businesses asking for donations or sponsorships.
“Our class chose to do a project with Feeding Children Everywhere after learning more about the organization from our professor and discovering that the Orlando area would be directly benefitting from our efforts,” said Erin Pearlman, a student in the class.
“This empowered us to make Orlando a better place for children and give them the food they need to survive and grow,” she said.
The meals will feed 50,000 children who use Orlando public schools’ food pantries, which help feed children who do not have access to meals at night or on the weekend. This project will be especially beneficial to some of Central Florida’s hardest-hit public schools, which have more than 90 percent of their students on free or reduced lunches.
Click here for more information about the packing event.