Feeding the gap
Many thanks to Douglas, Fennville, Saugatuck and the surrounding areas of Allegan County for supporting our Feeding the Gap initiative, which began at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic. Feeding the Gap gave supplemental weekend backpack meals to children and families in Allegan County, which began in March of 2020 through August 2021.
Children First Lakeshore (CFL) was formed with the mission of providing weekend backpack meals to children impacted by hunger. Prior to the pandemic, CFL was serving 30 students in Douglas and approximately 275 students in Fennville. Many of these students relied on receiving breakfast and lunch from school.
Our goal for Feeding the Gap was to raise $180,000 annually to ensure the children receive nourishment during this challenging time. We were extremely fortunate to help students at Douglas Elementary, Saugatuck Middle and High Schools, Fennville Elementary and Middle Schools, Innocademy of Fennville and the Glenn School.
While we received many generous donations from individuals and organizations, CFL was operating in unchartered territory and with the tremendous support from the collective community, CFL was able to deliver approximately 924 weekend backpack food bags weekly basis during the COVID 19 Pandemic. These food bags were delivered directly to the students’ homes. In late 2021, our program shifted back to our normal pre-COVID 19 numbers and the food was again delivered to the schools.