Community Corner

No Child Left Without Dinner

A group of yoga friends started a weekly food program based on that simple premise.

Every week a group of volunteers gathers to package a healthy take home meal for children in the Port Chester school district. They pack fruit, oatmeal, pasta, soup, cookies and other items that will help keep the kids fed through the weekend. The program is one of many of the Port Chester Rotary’s ways of giving back to their community and was conceived by a group of mothers who practice yoga together.

During the holidays in 2011, three Port Chester parents, Nancy Hoffman, Enza Giglio and Heather Brown, started talking about how the only meals that some kids have all day are those served at school.

“There is no reason why kids in our community should go without dinner,” said Hoffman, who has a grandchild in the Port Chester school district. So they worked together to start packaging food for kids to take home for the weekends. Reverend Bruce Baker at All Souls Presbyterian Church allowed them to use the church and store the food there. Eventually, Baker connected the group with the Port Chester Rotary, where he is a member. The Rotary soon took over the Food2GrowOn (F2GO) program and helped to expand it into what it is today. They were first handing out the packages at King School and now they also deliver them to Edison school. 

They also host monthly pasta dinners at Edison Elementary that are meant to teach the kids about sharing a meal as a community. 

Food2GrowOn is always looking for more volunteers and donations. They would like to deliver food to children in need in every Port Chester school. To make a donation to Food2GrowOn you can send a check to: Food2GrowOn Program PO Box 26 Port Chester, NY, 10573


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