By Christina Ostmeyer, Summer Meals Advocate
Lunch Across Kansas Month is off to a great start! Follow along as Kansas Appleseed visits sites across Kansas to see what they're doing to engage kids through activities and events.
Lunch and Learn with BOOM Comics
Topeka, KS
June 30, 2017
Due to the success of last year’s BOOM Comics spike event, partners teamed up once again to host Lunch and Learn with BOOM Comics. Over 300 kids attended the event at Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library and 287 meals were served. In addition to meals, kids received free comics, books from the United Way, and backpacks and could participate in on-site activities. Events like these raise program awareness and keep kids excited about the program. By providing enrichment at summer meals sites, programs help to stave off the summer educational slide. Partners included: BOOM Comics, St. David’s Episcopal Church, Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library, Topeka Public Schools, City of Topeka, Kansas State Department of Education, Boys and Girls Club of Topeka, United Way of Greater Topeka, Kansas Appleseed, and Harvesters Community Food Network.
Hiawatha Summer Lunch
Hiawatha, KS
July 3, 2017
Our Northeast Kansas Food Assistance Advocate Joey Hentzler and I had a great time visiting Hiawatha’s summer meals program, which is sponsored by Second Harvest Community Food Bank and coordinated by Hiawatha Allied Community Enrichment Society (ACES). ACES has started a summer lunch garden where kids can not only experience and learn about gardening, but the produce they harvest is used to supplement their summer lunches. Just before our visit, they harvested 15 pounds of sugar snap peas! After lunch, we went over to the garden with kids and families to hear from a local extension agent about the benefits of gardening. Fun fact: you can use some of your summer meals leftovers to make compost to spread on your garden, which is exactly what the Hiawatha Summer Lunch program does!
Emporia Meal Spot
Emporia, KS
July 5, 2017
I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Emporia Meal Spot at the Emporia library. This brand-new mobile unit will make it possible to serve meals in more locations, increasing kids’ access to the program! Many families and community members gathered to try the celebrity chef’s delicious gourmet mac and cheese. I went for the buffalo chicken mac and cheese myself, and all I can say is YUM. The United Way also had free books available for kids to take home. This year, the Meal Spot will serve outside of the library, a centralized location with great visibility that's perfect for families attending the library’s summer programming.
Wichita: Rep: Ron Estes and Kid Power
Wichita, KS
July 6, 2017
Rebekah Gaston, Kansas Appleseed Childhood Hunger Initiative Director, and Trina Morgan, Southwest Kansas Food Assistance Advocate, joined kids for lunch at the Wichita Kid Power Café, which is sponsored by USD 259. U.S. Representative Ron Estes (KS-4th District) was also able to be there to see the fantastic program in action. In the pictures, you can see kids drawing their favorite summer foods on the Lunch Across Kansas travelling mural and posing with Kid Power, a super hero who teaches kids about making healthy choices.
Storyteller’s Cafe
La Cygne, KS
July 6, 2017
I loved hanging out at La Cygne Library’s Storyteller’s Café as this program has a ton going for it: community mentors who read to kids while they enjoy their meal, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and an activity planned for each day they serve. I was there for Fitness Thursday, where volunteers from the United Methodist Church Healthy Congregations program taught the kids many different hula hoop activities and games. Other activities that La Cygne Library has been able to make happen include (but aren’t limited to) Free Book Fridays, a live bird show, a park ranger presentation, and an upcoming puppet show that will depict Tom Sawyer.
Iola: Science Circus and Rep. Lynn Jenkins
Iola, KS
July 7, 2017
Rebekah and Joey traveled down to Iola on Friday to visit Fun Friday at Riverside Park. USD 257 sponsors Iola’s summer meals program, and each Friday the program offers special activities on themed days such as Super Hero’s Day, National Get Outdoors Day, Feed 500 Day and Hometown Hobbies. Last Friday was Science Circus Day, and you can see the product of one of the activities in which kids created dolphins out of bananas and blueberries. U.S. Representative Lynn Jenkins (KS-2nd District) was able to see the program and visit with Kathy Koehn, USD 257 Director of Nutritional Services.
Lunch Across Kansas Month is off to a great start! Follow along as Kansas Appleseed visits sites across Kansas to see what they're doing to engage kids through activities and events.
Lunch and Learn with BOOM Comics
Topeka, KS
June 30, 2017
Due to the success of last year’s BOOM Comics spike event, partners teamed up once again to host Lunch and Learn with BOOM Comics. Over 300 kids attended the event at Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library and 287 meals were served. In addition to meals, kids received free comics, books from the United Way, and backpacks and could participate in on-site activities. Events like these raise program awareness and keep kids excited about the program. By providing enrichment at summer meals sites, programs help to stave off the summer educational slide. Partners included: BOOM Comics, St. David’s Episcopal Church, Topeka-Shawnee County Public Library, Topeka Public Schools, City of Topeka, Kansas State Department of Education, Boys and Girls Club of Topeka, United Way of Greater Topeka, Kansas Appleseed, and Harvesters Community Food Network.
Hiawatha Summer Lunch
Hiawatha, KS
July 3, 2017
Our Northeast Kansas Food Assistance Advocate Joey Hentzler and I had a great time visiting Hiawatha’s summer meals program, which is sponsored by Second Harvest Community Food Bank and coordinated by Hiawatha Allied Community Enrichment Society (ACES). ACES has started a summer lunch garden where kids can not only experience and learn about gardening, but the produce they harvest is used to supplement their summer lunches. Just before our visit, they harvested 15 pounds of sugar snap peas! After lunch, we went over to the garden with kids and families to hear from a local extension agent about the benefits of gardening. Fun fact: you can use some of your summer meals leftovers to make compost to spread on your garden, which is exactly what the Hiawatha Summer Lunch program does!
Emporia Meal Spot
Emporia, KS
July 5, 2017
I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Emporia Meal Spot at the Emporia library. This brand-new mobile unit will make it possible to serve meals in more locations, increasing kids’ access to the program! Many families and community members gathered to try the celebrity chef’s delicious gourmet mac and cheese. I went for the buffalo chicken mac and cheese myself, and all I can say is YUM. The United Way also had free books available for kids to take home. This year, the Meal Spot will serve outside of the library, a centralized location with great visibility that's perfect for families attending the library’s summer programming.
Wichita: Rep: Ron Estes and Kid Power
Wichita, KS
July 6, 2017
Rebekah Gaston, Kansas Appleseed Childhood Hunger Initiative Director, and Trina Morgan, Southwest Kansas Food Assistance Advocate, joined kids for lunch at the Wichita Kid Power Café, which is sponsored by USD 259. U.S. Representative Ron Estes (KS-4th District) was also able to be there to see the fantastic program in action. In the pictures, you can see kids drawing their favorite summer foods on the Lunch Across Kansas travelling mural and posing with Kid Power, a super hero who teaches kids about making healthy choices.
Storyteller’s Cafe
La Cygne, KS
July 6, 2017
I loved hanging out at La Cygne Library’s Storyteller’s Café as this program has a ton going for it: community mentors who read to kids while they enjoy their meal, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and an activity planned for each day they serve. I was there for Fitness Thursday, where volunteers from the United Methodist Church Healthy Congregations program taught the kids many different hula hoop activities and games. Other activities that La Cygne Library has been able to make happen include (but aren’t limited to) Free Book Fridays, a live bird show, a park ranger presentation, and an upcoming puppet show that will depict Tom Sawyer.
Iola: Science Circus and Rep. Lynn Jenkins
Iola, KS
July 7, 2017
Rebekah and Joey traveled down to Iola on Friday to visit Fun Friday at Riverside Park. USD 257 sponsors Iola’s summer meals program, and each Friday the program offers special activities on themed days such as Super Hero’s Day, National Get Outdoors Day, Feed 500 Day and Hometown Hobbies. Last Friday was Science Circus Day, and you can see the product of one of the activities in which kids created dolphins out of bananas and blueberries. U.S. Representative Lynn Jenkins (KS-2nd District) was able to see the program and visit with Kathy Koehn, USD 257 Director of Nutritional Services.
