Seven (thousand) families shopping!
Most kids run out the door after school, but not on family market days.
Those are the days when I work with teachers and staff at local grade schools to transform the gym or classroom or hallway into a fun, free market, with tables full of groceries and vegetables. Parents and kids come and choose food together that they’ll take home to cook.
There’s a lot of information available too, like recipe cards with fast meal ideas that feed a family of 4 for under $7, and cooking demonstrations that show how the ingredients parents are picking up at the market can be whipped into something delicious.
Parents love the market because it’s easy to get to, and it’s a warm, inviting space. And their kids love it because there are good smells, things to taste, and the comfort of being in a place they know. Last year we had 7,000 families come to shop.
It always moves me to see how happy children are to contribute by helping to pick out food. Some parents aren’t able to attend because they need to be at work, and their kids are so excited to shop for the family.
The line for the market often starts early, well before it opens – sometimes even in the cold. It’s a constant reminder that people are depending on the groceries they get there.
You help to bring those school gyms and classrooms to life on market days. Please make a generous gift today and keep families supplied with the food they need to thrive. We need you!