Clay County Youth Food Delivery Program update

Clay County Youth Food Delivery Program started in the Summer of 2014 by those who were concerned about the children of Clay County who depended on school meals during the school year. The first summer, lunches were delivered to approximately 90 children each weekday. Very few people in the community knew about this program and the funds and volunteers were limited. At the end of the Summer Program 2019, we were delivering to 732 children each weekday and providing weeks of shelf stable food in the month of July.

In 2016 our community became more aware of the needs of our children. Our volunteers ended Summer Program 2016 relieved the children would be back in school. We worried about what the children had available to eat on weekends, fall break, spring break and Christmas break. In 2016, we stepped out in faith together and decided to start the School Program for weekends and school year breaks.

We were sending food home for the weekends during the School Program 19/20 with around 450 children. Then, school abruptly ended in March 2020. We had to rely on the news and social media to sign up our families. We had no plan, no volunteers lined up, and no idea of how we would get food to the kids. Our community stepped up and helped us figure it out!

Fast forward to the end of Summer 2020. We delivered 115,276 meals and made 8,234 deliveries once school ended in March 2020. We had plans, changed the plan, then changed again to a new plan. We spent $70,682.52 from March 2020 to the start of the School Program and have only been funded by our community’s donations and our community stepping up to get the food to the kids.

As of 9/11/2020,we are now in our sixth week of the 20/21 School Program and sending food home with the children enrolled in school and having food available for pick up at the YMCA for those who are virtual students or home schooled. We serve all schools in Clay County (except for Northview who has their own program), Head Start and Clay Cradles.

Volunteers meet to pack food on Thursday evenings for Clay County North. We meet at 6 pm, at First Baptist Church, in Brazil, IN to pack for the Brazil area schools. Volunteers meet at 5:00 pm, at Cory Community Church of the Nazarene, Cory, IN to pack food for the Clay City Schools. Please join us! Masks are required at this time.