Filling in the Blanks recently received a $15,000 grant from Fairfield County’s Community Foundation to support its Weekend Meal Program.
Filling in the Blanks works to fight childhood hunger in our local communities by providing children in need with meals on the weekends. Grants and donations to Filling in the Blanks help purchase balanced, shelf-stable food items that are packaged into individual meal bags by volunteers in their Norwalk warehouse. Those weekend meal bags are delivered each week to 2,200 children who are food-insecure at 38 schools and after-school programs in Stamford, Norwalk, and Greenwich, CT and Bedford, NY.
“This grant will help ensure that Filling in the Blanks can continue to provide food for each child enrolled in the Weekend Meal Program and to expand its reach by removing children from the waitlist, “said Tina Kramer, Co-Founder and Co-President. The organization’s other Co-Founder and Co-President, Shawnee Knight shared, “Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has not only given financial support but has also been a key partner in helping Filling in the Blanks collect data and measure our impact.”
Filling in the Blanks has delivered 171,395 meal bags to children who need them since it’s inception in 2013. A food-secure environment is created year-round through the Summer Meal Program which serves most of these same students at local summer camps and community centers.
Fairfield County’s Community Foundation promotes philanthropy as a means to create change in Fairfield County, focusing on innovative and collaborative solutions to critical issues impacting the community. Individuals, families, corporations and organizations can establish charitable funds or contribute to existing funds. The Community Foundation is in compliance with the Council on Foundations’ national standards, and has awarded $180 million in grants to nonprofits in Fairfield County and beyond. For more information, visit www.fccfoundation.org.
Filling in the Blanks works tirelessly to remove the obstacle of food insecurity for children in our local community and ease the burden on their parents or caregivers. As a result, the students receiving the weekend meal bags have improved peace of mind, ability to focus on tasks, and the ability to learn. For more information, visit: www.fillingintheblanks.org.