Some of the people fighting child hunger in Montgomery County got to meet the students who take their free dinners home.
Staff at Shepherd’s Table, the Montgomery County Food Council and the Montgomery County Office of Food Systems Resilience visited Stephen Knolls School in Silver Spring for a site visit Friday to highlight the county’s school-based food assistance program and hand out a bag of food to participating students.
Thanks to a county grant, Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring partnered with the school in Kensington to provide nutritious meals.
Of the 50 students who attend the special education program for students ages three to 21, half go home three days a week with a nourishing meal. On Friday, they had a choice of chicken stir fry or vegetable spring rolls.
“This is a school-based food resiliency program,” explained Catherine Nardi, program manager at the Office of Food Systems Resilience.
“We are beyond blessed for all the support we get from Shepherd’s Table,” declared Principal Abby Brandt. “It’s just a blessing” for families who spend so much time and money helping their children thrive medically and feel included, she said.
“For my students and their families, to feel seen in their communities is a blessing,” Brandt said.
Added Christina Moore, director of meal services at Shepherd’s Table, who toured the school and met students in their classrooms, “It was especially touching, because of the population we serve. The opportunity to experience a delicious meal is something we should all get to experience.”
According to County Executive Marc Elrich, 44% of students in the Montgomery County Public Schools students are in the Free and Reduced Meals program.
Councilmember Gabe Albornoz said that 150 county schools have some kind of food assistance program directly on site.
This program with the food resilience office serves 35 schools and costs about $400,000.
Elrich said the upcoming summer vacation is an issue, noting, “We probably are not going to be able to feed all the kids who need food.”
Albornoz thanked everyone involved in making sure students don’t go hungry. “I know we can get there. I am confident, we will get there, frankly, because of people like you,” Albornoz said of the possibility of ending childhood hunger.
