The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
We have had three distinct phases in just our brief existence already. We started out with the mission to reduce the burden of school meal costs and debts for public school students. However, after we launched our initial programs the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the USDA made all schools meals for all students. We were pleased students’ families no longer fell into debt but wish the pandemic had not been the reason. At the same time, many people lost jobs or had to stay home because their children were remote learning, and demand for us to provide food and supplies directly to students and their families shot up dramatically. In the first 10 months of “lock down” we made several grocery deliveries per week in four nearby communities in South Jersey. As quickly as the need arose, it fell away when Congress passed assistance for families affected by the pandemic. Again, we were glad the need decreased, and we looked for other avenues to pursue Hungry Minds’ mission to feed and educate public school students. With demand for school lunch relief and direct grocery support reduced, we turned to the approach of other, larger private foundations. We began to look for opportunities to support and partner with other charitable organizations where we could benefit from their greater reach and resources, but still impact the ultimate use of our funds. We have thus far found two outstanding organizations. First, Rowan University, where we have established a four year, $4,000 per year scholarship for one graduate each year from one of two local communities (Delran and Moorestown). Second, the Food Bank of South Jersey, which runs programs like the School Pantry that are 100% aligned with Hungry Minds’ mission and purpose. If needs arise in the school lunch and grocery support programs in the future, we will be ready, but in the meantime, we are blessed to have such partner organizations as Rowan and the Food Bank of South Jersey available to help meet our mutual goals