One Philadelphia nonprofit is working to make sure no child goes hungry, especially when those kids head home for the weekend — but it needs your help to keep going.
French toast and fresh fruit were on the breakfast menu recently inside Miss T’s classroom at Children’s Place Preschool in Mayfair. Breakfast is just one of four times students eat at the school throughout the day, including dinner.
“Without organizations like ours, these children wouldn’t eat all day,” Mark Wainwright says.
Wainwright is the founder of It Takes a Village to Feed One Child. Through partnerships with grocers and local businesses, the nonprofit provides all their meals for free.
Earlier this year, the organization was able to provide children with meals to take home over the weekend. But Wainwright says the weekend food program is now on pause after the city grant that funded it expired.
“And we’re not able to continue that program right now, and that’s one of the reasons we are fundraising,” Executive Vice President Brian Williams explains.
Nonprofit started from a mother’s generosity
The idea for It Takes a Village to Feed One Child formed when Wainwright himself was just a child growing up in West Philly.
“What I witnessed from my mom is that not only did she shop for our household with limited money, she shopped for the entire block,” Wainwright recalled. “So, every time her car pulled up, she had food for the other kids, my friends on the block, and that resonated with me.”
Children sit for breakfast at the Children’s Place Preschool in the Mayfair neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia.
CBS News Philadelphia
Wainwright started the organization in 2017. After nearly a decade in service, the nonprofit has grown to serve 250,000 meals a month — 3 million meals a year — to more than 100 child care centers in disadvantaged communities throughout the Philadelphia region.
It’s filling a critical need, with nearly one-third of Philadelphia’s children living in a household experiencing food insecurity, according to city leaders.
Community praying for restart of weekend meals program
Teachers and administrators at Children’s Place Preschool on Longshore Avenue call the meals a blessing.
“We’re not sure when the children will eat last, so for them to have something in the evening, to hold them over … it’s amazing for our communitiy and our families,” Assistant Director Colleen Hicks says.
“We are very happy to have them,” Director Danuta Eichler says.
Since the weekend meals program was put on pause, parents have been asking when it might come back.
“Now those parents are emailing us and calling us and saying, ‘Hey guys, when are you guys going to start feeding these children on the weekend? Because we desperately need it,'” Wainwright says.
Their mission is to keep bellies full every day of the week and the children focused on a bright future.
It Takes a Village to Feed One Child is hoping to restart its weekend meals program with donor support.
The nonprofit also organizes pop-up pantries, helps senior centers and supports homeless shelters.
To find help or to give a donation, visit feed1child.org.