Feed Our Rural Kids
Volume 1: May 2020 Edition
Message From FORK President~
This inaugural newsletter celebrates FORK'S first year of existence. Below you will find our lead article, The Evolution of An Idea. In this message I share just a slice of the story of how FORK has navigated these past 12 months. Frankly, if I am being honest, our journey has been marked by a lot of trepidation and uncertainty rather than unshaken confidence that we were moving in the right direction.
But I guess that was common place for most of us in our formative years as we grew from a child into an adult. I'm not suggesting that we have grown to know all the answers, but rather today, we still have more questions with some wisdom to back us.
However, what we do know is that doing something is better than doing nothing for the kids. We are now more confident that as we continue to grow, we will continue to learn. This year of experience has taught us that together, as a community, we will find and develop the answers needed in order to help children from food insecure homes.
We are grateful to all of the people who have come forward to show and give support in the many ways necessary for such growth. Whether that was a monetary donation, a volunteer offering, a Facebook like and/or share, media coverage, or just encouraging words, it has meant the world to this newly shaped organization -FORK.
We can do this ~ We can get there ~ But only with your continued help.
Thank you,
Perry Pokrandt
President of Feed Our Rural Kids, Inc.
FEATURE: Evolution of an Idea... In the Beginning
Sometimes we've wondered out loud, how did we get here? At our first meeting as a board of directors, the goal of the group was simply to raise some needed money and feed kids. Simple right?
Over these past twelve months FORK, as an idea, has evolved into an ideal; centered around our ever-changing answer to this single question: What does winning look like for kids?
Early on it became clear, that the issue of childhood food insecurity is complicated. But our aha moment, the one that now defines our organization, was in the realization that there are gaps in the current system. They are gaps in which children who need help can easily disappear. The challenge to FORK is that there is a difference between identifying our challenges, those gaps, and solving them.
We first identified that there is a gap that exists between the number of kids who need and qualify for help from our current nutrition program and the number of kids who actually receive that help.
Secondly, we discovered gaps between the help offered by our community's current programs and the specific help needed by certain children. The challenge around the development of new solutions is nothing more than a process entailing one part creative and another part monetary.
To that end, FORK has already rolled out our FORK Cares program, which was created to fill the nutritional gap during the children's periods of vacation from school. This is when children lose access to other support programs due to school being closed.
Our second program, Meals NOW, was created as an emergency nutrition support program targeting children who are faced with fast -changing levels of food security.
As of today, FORK has identified two additional gaps where children need additional support. In the coming months, you will hear more about FORK's Jump Start and Emergency Formula Support programs.
It is in the pursuit of helping our kids that FORK will continue to challenge itself and the community to fill the gaps and to help the kids. Because now it is clear; evolution is a process, not a destination.
Matching Grant Campaign ROCKS online with Bret and Frisk and Friends
So here it is... A Matching Grant Challenge /Online Musical Concert
$20,000.00 has been pledged to be matched and donated to FORK by Margaret Baack and Mike McAdams of Land O'Lakes, WI for all other donations up to that amount. That is twice the the impact for kids! WOW!
This campaign runs from May 5th thru Memorial Day, May 25th.
For the big punch, join us online May 23rd from 6-8 pm for Bret and Frisk and Friends - A Concert for the Kids!
This is a one of a kind experience for the most important of causes. You will find a YouTube link on FORK's website - www.feedourruralkids.org OR on FORK's Facebook page. Click on the link, sway to the music, stomp your feet, and hit the donate button to add to the matching grant fund.
"It's about helping kids, and the first step is to raise the money needed to do just that. Thank you in advance for all of your fundraising efforts. You ROCK!!"
Tuesday, May 5, 2020, 12:00 AM
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HAPPENING NOW: Meals NOW enters "Next Phase"
The COVID -19 pandemic has continued to challenge the FORK Board of Directors by having to cancel events, alter budgets, and make changes in general planning.
When Northland Pines School District had to temporarily close the physical school buildings under Governor Evers "Safer at home " order, FORK was financially challenged by the school district's request to provide up to 1,200 meals a week as a supplement to the district's federally funded meal program.
Just recently, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced it is allowing school districts across the state to provide weekend meals that will be fully funded by the government.
"This is a great opportunity to maximize the impact FORK provides to the children with the greatest levels of food insecurity, " detailed NPSD Administrator Scott Foster. "Due to great news around the expansion of tax funded food distribution, monies raised by FORK will now be utilized in a more targeted manner."
As of now, the plan is that after Memorial Day, FORK's Meals NOW program will provide up to 150 children additional nutritional support through the end of June.
"By that time, the rules will likely change again, " offered Foster. "But one thing is certain, as the COVID landscape changes, we are confident that FORK will be there to support the children of the Northland Pines School District."
A SNEAK PEEK...... FORK Formulates 3 Year Plan
It has often been said that you cannot know if you have arrived until you first have decided where you want to go. In this case, our efforts to plan into the future is part of a process to aid us in setting aspirational goals for the organization as we move forward.
Other programs already conceived and cemented as an integral part of that 3 year plan are things such as -
- the rescheduled Mid-Summer's Night Ride on August 14, 2021
- educational programs for adults
- establishment of an endowment fund to ensure resources for years to come
- Nutrition Week as part of the curriculum within the NPSD
"This plan, when finished in July, should give our community a clear insight into the road FORK is committed to follow going forward, offered FORK President Perry Pokrandt. "When finished, we will make this information available on our website, FeedOurRuralKids.org."
To grow this organization into the future, we will need committed individuals who are willing to be part of this journey. If you are interested in being one of those individuals, please go to FeedOurRuralKids.org and click the "Get Involved" link.
For FORK, the future starts today!
Feed Our Rural Kids ~ FORK Board of Directors/ Board Advisors
Scott Foster - Vice President
Dan Beihoff - Treasurer
Jackie Coghlan - Secretary
Jessica Allen - Director
Rick Meich - Director
Andrea Fluegel - Director
Keith Kentala - Grant Writer
Brenda Husing - Dietician/Nutritional Resource
Email: info@feedourruralkids.org
Website: www.feedourrualkids.org
Location: 4887 Echo Ridge Dr, Eagle River, WI, USA
Phone: 715-410-8167
Facebook: facebook.com/feedourrualkids
Partnering with the Community
- Vilas Food Pantry
- Headwaters Food Pantry
- Northland Pines School District
- Weekend Backpack Program
- The Locker/The Room
- Caritas
Feed Our Rural Kids Help Brochure
Volunteer Your Time
info@feedourruralkids.org with your request. If you received this email but would like to change email addresses, please let us know at the above email. Thank you.