Summer Meal Program

According to the United Nations' Committee on World Food Security, food security is defined as meaning that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences, and dietary needs, for an active and healthy life. There is a lot to unpack there in that one sentence but let me break down what that means to us.

First and foremost, families need to have access to food. That means they have a grocery store near buy, they have the means to be able to get there, and the means to buy what they need to feed their family that week.

And it’s not just access to food, it’s access to healthy food. Of course, “healthy” is subjective. At first thought, it’s easy to think that providing access to things like fresh fruit and vegetables, milk and eggs, and meat, fish and poultry is “healthy”, but each family is different. Some families may have family members that deal with food allergies, dietary restrictions, or perhaps a texture or sensory aversion to certain foods. What’s good and healthy for you, might not be good for your friend or neighbor.

It’s access to culturally appropriate food. Having access to culturally appropriate food means that people have food that they are familiar and comfortable with. It means a little bit of normalcy. Normalcy equals sense of security.

Dr. Megan Gray from the Dell Med Department of Pediatrics said that “the reality of food insecurity goes beyond just having enough money to buy food. It’s about the chronic stress and mental health impact of families who are worried about not being able to meet their children’s needs.”

Our goal is to help ease the stress of food insecurity for families within the Lake Travis Independent School District, by providing them with diet specific, culturally appropriate food options by allowing them the opportunity to create a grocery list, or weekly meal plan, based on what their family normally eats. We also provide what we feel is a reasonable and appropriate weekly grocery budget for each family based on their family size and specific dietary needs, and we are able eliminate another layer of food insecurity by doing the shopping for them and delivering the groceries directly to their doorstep. Because they shouldn’t have to worry about how they are going to eat that week because they can’t physically get to the store.