IONIA COUNTY, Mich. — A local nonprofit working to keep students fed outside of school hours is aiming to expand its reach thanks to new funding.
IM Kids 3rd Meal, a nonprofit serving students in Ionia and Montcalm counties, recently received a grant from the Michigan Association of Health Plans to help provide even more meals to local children facing food insecurity.
VIDEO: Grant money helping nonprofit expand fight against food insecurity
The organization currently feeds around 850 students each day by hand-packing take-home meal bags for local school districts. Executive Director Deborah Wagner said the grant comes at a critical time.
“The cost of food is going up substantially and we know our numbers are also going to be going up substantially, especially with the higher price of gas and price of groceries,” Wagner said. “It will help cover some of those increases in food costs.”
Belding Area Schools is one of the districts partnering with the nonprofit. Roughly 10% of students in the district take home meal bags at the end of the school day.
Belding Middle School Principal Joe Barron said the program gives students more than just food security, it also helps them focus in the classroom.
“We provide breakfast and lunch, and we work really hard and it’s not always possible to have one be going home, but now we can,” Barron said. “They can focus on their learning because maybe they have to do less focusing on where that next meal is coming from.”
Leaders with I Am Kids 3rd Meal said the need continues to grow, with more students joining the program each semester. They say grants and community partnerships are essential to keeping local children fed outside the classroom.
While the nonprofit will not provide meals over the summer as it prepares to move into a new facility, families can find other local meal resources here.
