Family Mentor Foundation began in 2013 with a mission to create services and partnerships that help fill in the areas lacking in a child’s life. Today, Family Mentor Foundation seeks to help meet the nutritional needs of children in our community so they can reach their full potential.
Buddy Box
Many children who qualify for free lunch or reduced fee lunch at their schools have little to eat at home and return to school after weekends distracted by their hunger and unable to focus on learning.
Family Mentor Foundation’s goal is to bridge the gap; to send these kids home with a Buddy Box every Friday during the school year to alleviate their hunger. A Buddy Box is a box filled with kid-friendly, nutritious, nonperishable, individual sized-food items that are easy for children to eat or prepare on their own. These meals and snacks help sustain the children on the weekends when they are not in school.
Currently, we provide Buddy Boxes for 1,500 hungry children at schools in Worthington, Columbus and South-Western City School Districts during the academic year, and at multiple summer feeding sites throughout the summer.
“ “We are so thankful for this program. Our students are so grateful and ask about the buddy boxes at the beginning of the year. It is clear that they are appreciated by the families and are helping meet needs over the weekends. Thank you so much for this great program for our students.” ”
Our school site coordinators report the following:
We host regular packing events where volunteers gather together to prepare and fill Buddy Boxes. These events bring together members of the community or company employees to donate, fill and organize Buddy Boxes for a particular month. This fun and interactive experience allows participants to give back in a hands-on meaningful community-building activity.
