Common Ground gears up to Feed the Kids

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Common Ground is on a mission to feed 12,000 youngsters in the Mansfield ISD this summer using all donated food or items purchased with donations and an all-volunteer staff.

The cost? Approximately $100,000, says Feed the Kids co-chair Andrew Hudson, who is vice president of Common Ground. The 12-week program begins May 20 and runs through Aug. 5. The Feed the Kids program is run out of an empty storefront at 703 E. Broad St.,next door to the Mansfield Mission Center Thrift Store.

“The whole program is run through 100 percent donations: seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven snack items,” Hudson said. “We have two volunteer sessions every Wednesday. For the morning session, we invite volunteers to come out at 10 a.m. to set up assembly line. We get the numbers from our partner organizations that distribute the bags. That usually takes about 45 minutes.

“In the evening at 6 p.m., that’s the actual bagging,” he said. “We get an assembly line. We have people of all ages come out. They come and put those bags together, put them in cars to distribution centers and off they go.”

Common Ground, a non-profit group of local churches, service organizations, businesses, the city and school district, began the Feed the Kids program in 2005, and ramped it up in 2007, providing seven days of food to hungry kids in the Mansfield ISD after school counselors noticed that kids were coming back from summer break hungry.

“It’s so important,” said Suzy Herrmann, who co-chairs the program with Hudson. “These kids are our future. We want the best education and opportunities for them. You can’t do that if you are worried about where your next meal is going to come from. I don’t think anybody should go hungry.”

The bags of food contain kid-friendly items, like cereal, oatmeal, macaroni & cheese, ravioli, fruit cups, crackers, peanut butter and granola bars. The items are ready to eat, or only require a microwave because many youngsters are feeding themselves while their parents or guardians are at work.

This summer committee members will be adding items with more protein, like beef sticks, Herrmann said.

The bags of food are distributed to local food pantries, which then pass them out to youngsters in need.

Kids can also feed their minds by selecting books when they pick up their bags of food.

“We are getting 1,000 books from Half Price Books,” Herrmann said. “The Sunrise Rotary Club is picking up the books. Kids can take as many books as they want and they can keep them if they want.”

Since the Feed the Kids program started passing out books, reading levels have remained steady or gone up, Herrmann said.

The food program is also working, Hudson said.

“We are in contact with the nurses and the nutrition program at the schools and we know that this is working,” he said.” We know that there are even more kids that need it that don’t know this is available.

“We live in a pretty well-off area,” Hudson said. “Fifty percent of the school district is on the free lunch program. Most people would never guess that.”

To run the program, Common Ground needs help.

“This program costs over $100,000 a summer to run,” Hudson said. “Every dollar helps us. Every bag that we make is a little under $10. Even if it’s just $10, that’s one bag. People can donate food. We put 21 items in the bag. If a business or group wants to do a food drive, that is extremely helpful. We have posted a link to an Amazon cart on our website (commongroundmansfield.org). It really helps when those foods get donated. They can buy it and bring it or get it sent to (the First Methodist Church).”

The group also needs manpower to sort, pack and deliver the meals.

“Come volunteer every week during the summer, except the first week of July when we take a break for the holiday,” Hudson said. “Everybody is welcome. I have brought my daughters when they were 4 and 2. It’s an incredible thing to see family units working together, giving back to the community.”

Hudson said donations of food or money are appreciated, as are the hundreds of volunteers who show up each week. He also asked that people pray for the program, the volunteers and the children that they serve.