Day 1!

Today was the first official day of the summer feeding site program. We expected as many as 75 students to show up the first day! Kids on Campus did a lot of the organizing of the students; like I mentioned before, they range in age from grades 1-11, but the majority of those attending today fell into a range of 2nd-8th grade (judging by my inexperienced eye).

I am one of four Americorps/VISTAs working on this program through CFI. Four more VISTAs are working with Kids on Campus. We are so very lucky to have so much wonderful support for this program, and from so many directions!

The other CFI VISTAs and I met early this morning at Fed Hock Middle School, breathlessly ready for a day that was sure to be jam-packed with activity. And it was! We instantly got to work in the nutrition room that will serve as our kitchen. By 8:30, we were proudly standing in the cafeteria as the kids filed in, assembling for the first time in their groups - four groups total, assorted roughly by age.

Today, we served oatmeal topped with apples and blueberries from the farmers' market, finished off with bananas and a mug of Snowville milk. We learned a lot in preparing the meal and serving it - what sort of system we would need in the cafeteria, for example, and that the students definitely prefer oatmeal to be sweetened (we totally forgot!).


The rest of the day was also spent a-hustle and a-bustle as we cleaned up from breakfast, prepared lunch, and welcomed our first group of kitchen helpers. This group, composed mostly of 7th and 8th graders, learned knife safety with Cindy and helped us wash dishes as we made lunch.

Lunch today was a favorite comfort food - mac & cheese, paired with peas and more fresh apples. Logistically, lunch went off much more smoothly than breakfast. We even had time to set up a compost bin for food scraps, which hopefully will be used in the school garden!

I am planning to update daily with snippets from the day's events cooking, serving, and educating the students. Throughout, I will also dedicate some posts to providing more information about CFI, Kids on Campus, and some of the other fantastic things we're doing this summer - such as the school garden!

Tonight, I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit exhausted from the day's exploits (I spent the evening running around Athens in search of Romaine lettuce!), but I feel good. I'm truly just full of excitement about what this project means and hope for what the summer will bring!