State Farm Awards IM KIDS 3RD MEAL a Grant

Ionia, Michigan-IM Kids 3rd Meal was recently awarded $15,000 of grant funding by the State Farm Companies Foundation to support evening meals for food-insecure children in Ionia and Montcalm counties. IM Kids 3rd Meals’ mission states we are committed to ending childhood hunger locally. This funding will allow us to provide additional evening meals to meet the growing issue of childhood food insecurity in our local communities.

IM Kids 3rd Meal is pleased to receive this grant award and put it towards adding additional schools with food-insecure children needing evening meals. In 2021, the program provided 550 daily evening meals Monday through Friday. Today 843 evening meals daily. “IM Kids 3rd Meal is pleased to receive this grant award and put it towards adding 150 evening meals for food-insecure children allowing us to provide 1000 meals daily,” said Deborah Wagner, Executive Director. Food insecurity impacts children’s health, social development, cognitive growth, and general well-being. Ensuring consistent access to nutrition for children allows them to come to school every day, focused and ready to learn.

IM Kids 3rd Meal mobilizes local rural communities, individuals, and resources to provide an evening meal Monday through Friday for food-insecure children across Ionia and Montcalm school districts who might otherwise go hungry. One of our first partners in 2014 was local State Farm agents. “IM Kids 3rd Meal program is not only a way that we can monetarily support our local communities to be good neighbors, but it also supports a future generation of good neighbors with the children served. So many charities and groups only look for money, it's nice to be able to donate using our time and effort as a resource. The program fosters values of teamwork to attain a common goal of helping local communities, we plan to continue this long after we are State Farm agents,” said Frank Nerychel, State Farm Agent. The program has provided 652246 meals utilizing 26885 volunteers who have donated 50304 volunteer hours since April 2014.

Several studies have demonstrated that food insecurity impacts cognitive development among young children and is linked to poorer school performance. Other data show the health consequences of food insecurity among children, including increased illness and associated health costs. The structural foundation for cognitive functioning is laid in early childhood, creating the underlying circuitry on which more complex processes are built. This foundation can be greatly affected by food insecurity. Inadequate nutrition can permanently alter a child’s brain architecture and stunt their intellectual capacity, affecting their learning, social interaction, and productivity. Children who do not receive what they need for strong, healthy brain development during early childhood may never recover their lost potential for cognitive growth and eventual contributions to society* (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child).

The State Farm Companies Foundation grant dollars will help the program address local childhood hunger. Food-insecure students receiving regular, nutritious meals provide the physiological building blocks necessary for proper growth, health, development, and learning. Providing evening meals with breakfast and lunch at school is one approach to avoiding the tangible and long-lasting costs of food insecurity in childhood.

Wendy Rode, a local State Farm agent shared “We come together to make sandwiches and we have fun doing it, but the real bonus is knowing that we are helping 800+ families who are food insecure. This is a real challenge for many families, and as a State Farm agent, I am honored to be a small part of the IM Kids Program and appreciate State Farm’s sponsorship.”