Every Meal began in 2010 with a mission to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. This year, Every Meal will provide weekend meals to students and their families in over 500 schools in Minnesota. Some of the benefits of Every Meal include:

·         A choice of five weekend food bag options structured around the USDA MyPlate nutritional standards and cultural preference

·         All food bags contain 4-5 pounds of non-perishable fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains

·         Consolidated food sourcing, packing, and delivery to schools from a warehouse location in Roseville, MN

Northport has decided to begin distributing food to kids via Every Meal for the 2022-2023 school year. Every Meal will source the food that Northport families choose, pack the food in weekend bags, and deliver it to Northport for distribution. Mount Olivet will sponsor Northport by providing part of the funding and volunteers needed to help distribute food at the school on Friday afternoons. Pastor Kristin will communicate about volunteer opportunities as the new program gets off the ground and more is known about what is needed.

While we will not be continuing Kid Pack as we have previously known it, our work over the years has paved the way for something better. This is a big change for Mount Olivet, but one we hope will ultimately serve the kids and families at Northport Elementary with more nutritious, delicious, and relevant food, which is our main goal. We realize that this means the loss of a very convenient way to volunteer and serve as a family (i.e., packing food right at Mount Olivet), so we will continue to think about other similar opportunities.

One way to serve and check out what Every Meal has to offer is coming this fall! On October 27th, join us to pack meals at the Every Meal warehouse in Roseville from 6-8pm. Then stop for a sweet treat afterwards as a thank you for your Kid Pack service as we mark this new beginning. More details and a sign-up will be coming later in September, but mark your calendars now. If you are interested in learning more about Every Meal in the meantime, you can find a wealth of information at www.everymeal.org.