Tax deductible
“It's a blessing to have a healthy prepared meal available at the end of the day. It really reduces the stress and expense of having to prepare and serve a meal after a day of work and then childcare in the evening. This makes the family time at the end of the day much more enjoyable.”
- Pete’s Garden meal recipient
30,000 meals served. Approximately 500 families supported.
As our first year of operations comes to a close, I’m reflecting on what Pete’s Garden has accomplished and how we will increase our impact in the years ahead. COVID has created a crisis of food insecurity, especially for families. Our region went from 1 in 7 kids facing food insecurity to 1 in 4. Many of the parents we serve are low wage, essential workers, without the option to work from home. Going into work means getting a paycheck, but it also might mean exposing her and her family to the virus.
In this environment, family dinner can be a respite. Sharing a meal gives a family time to talk, to listen, and to laugh. That is the real value of the work we do. On Pete’s Garden meal nights, a parent doesn’t need to spend time cooking or cleaning up. We provide a free healthy meal but, more importantly, we provide families time to be together. Benefits can remain well after everybody eats. According to research, children who regularly eat dinner with their families show physical, social, emotional, and academic advantages. Pete’s Garden is working with Boston-based Family Dinner Project to provide ideas and resources that make mealtime fun and meaningful for the whole family.
Although COVID forced many of our food recovery partners to temporarily close their kitchens, we’ve partnered with food businesses to prepare and donate meals for Pete’s Garden families. Donated meals, combined with food recovery, enabled us to distribute over 30,000 meals this year, 3x our original plan! We expect food recovery to increase as a COVID vaccine allows restrictions to ease and our catering and food service partners resume more normal operations. We also look forward to more donors joining our food recovery network.
Your support today ensures Pete’s Garden can continue our work into 2021 and beyond.
We are just getting started!
- Pete’s Garden meal recipient
30,000 meals served. Approximately 500 families supported.
As our first year of operations comes to a close, I’m reflecting on what Pete’s Garden has accomplished and how we will increase our impact in the years ahead. COVID has created a crisis of food insecurity, especially for families. Our region went from 1 in 7 kids facing food insecurity to 1 in 4. Many of the parents we serve are low wage, essential workers, without the option to work from home. Going into work means getting a paycheck, but it also might mean exposing her and her family to the virus.
In this environment, family dinner can be a respite. Sharing a meal gives a family time to talk, to listen, and to laugh. That is the real value of the work we do. On Pete’s Garden meal nights, a parent doesn’t need to spend time cooking or cleaning up. We provide a free healthy meal but, more importantly, we provide families time to be together. Benefits can remain well after everybody eats. According to research, children who regularly eat dinner with their families show physical, social, emotional, and academic advantages. Pete’s Garden is working with Boston-based Family Dinner Project to provide ideas and resources that make mealtime fun and meaningful for the whole family.
Although COVID forced many of our food recovery partners to temporarily close their kitchens, we’ve partnered with food businesses to prepare and donate meals for Pete’s Garden families. Donated meals, combined with food recovery, enabled us to distribute over 30,000 meals this year, 3x our original plan! We expect food recovery to increase as a COVID vaccine allows restrictions to ease and our catering and food service partners resume more normal operations. We also look forward to more donors joining our food recovery network.
Your support today ensures Pete’s Garden can continue our work into 2021 and beyond.
We are just getting started!
Organizer
Tamara Weber
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
Pete's Garden Inc
Beneficiary