According to Feeding America, rural counties make up 84% of counties with the highest percentage of children at risk for food insecurity.
With most schools closed and some food banks a long drive away from town, this is likely a stressful time for many rural and farm families who already struggle to get a good meal for their families on the table.
McLane Global, a Houston-based food and logistics company, is trying to ease that burden by offering home delivery of free meals in rural areas.
The company has launched the Emergency Meals-To-You Partnership, a public-private partnership with USDA, Baylor Collaborative on Hunger, McLane Global, PepsiCo and others for home delivery of shelf-stable meals to students in rural areas while limiting exposure to COVID-19.
The goal is to provide more than 1 million meals per week across rural America.
“Companies big and small have a role to play in helping our nation through this difficult period, and we’re honored to work with our partners to help meet this challenge for kids across America who would otherwise go hungry,” says Denton McLane, chairman of McLane Global.
Many schools are still serving school lunches and, in some cases, breakfasts through grab-and-go events at schools where parents pick up meals without getting out of their car.
This can be challenging to do in rural areas since many students live miles away from the closest school and transportation can be a challenge.
Each Emergency Meals-To-You kit includes a week’s worth — 20 meals — of shelf-stable foods such as milk, cereal bowls, snacks, entrees, fruit cups and juices for one student.
Melissa Hunter, director of marketing for McLane Global, says the program is modeled after a similar Summer Meals-To-You program the company also led.
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the large number of schools that are closed, Hunter says the company wanted to start the program up sooner this year.
Companies stepping up
McLane Global handles logistics for many of the largest food production companies in the country. Several of their clients, including General Mills — which is providing cereal bowls for the meal kits — have stepped up to help, she says.
The program’s website shows 20 school districts, mostly in Louisiana and Texas, signed up for the program. The Milford School Department in Maine is also signed up.
All told, Hunter says the school districts represent around 60,000 students.
To be eligible, school districts must:
- Participate in the National School Lunch Program
- Have at least 50% of enrollment eligible for free or reduced-priced meals (though this requirement is covered if the district participates in the Community Eligibility Provision)
- Have an announced a closure of at least four weeks, not counting spring break
- Fall under the designation of rural, which can be checked online
Once a school district is enrolled students start getting meals in about a week’s time, though that largely depends on location, she says.
Hunter says the company is working with UPS and the U.S. Postal Service to balance out coverage areas for delivery.
The program is fully funded by the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded, state-administered program that reimburses program operators who serve free, healthy meals and snacks to children and teens in low-income areas.
Visit Meals-To-You online to learn more.