Kids Food Basket is celebrating two decades of feeding hungry kids all around West Michigan. Over that time, their growth is both a sign of success for what they are accomplishing and a revelation that their growth only exists because of a growing need to feed hungry kids.
The Fox 17 Morning Mix took a tour of their facility and farm to see how much they've grown over the past 20 years.
Kids' Food Basket was founded in 2002 when a local principal recognized there was food insecurity and a hunger issue in her school. When she was trying to find out how to fix the problem, the idea for Kids' Food Basket was born.
They started with sandwiches and juice boxes to feed 125 kids. Fast forward to 2022, where Kids' Food Basket is now serving 9000 meals every single day in four counties throughout West Michigan.
Every meal they serve has fresh fruit, vegetables, protein, and a healthy snack making sure kids have the food that they need to thrive and grow.
In 2019, they built a brand new facility to help meet this need to feed kids in Ottawa, Muskegon, Kent, and Allegan counties. Their facility has a 10-acre farm, where they can help grow these foods going into their meals, as well as source foods from farmers in the area.
Kids' Food Basket is constantly looking for volunteers to help package meals, tend the garden and greenhouse, as well as deliver meals to schools in West Michigan.
To learn more about how to be part of Kids' Food Basket, visit kidsfoodbasket.org.
