Filling in the Blanks – August Mission

Join Filling in the Blanks’ efforts in August by bringing a new full-size back to church or drop one (or three or five!) off in Smith Hall anytime during the month. Traveling this month? You can also ship a backpack directly to the church (23 Park Street); Attention: Tracy Goldman. Contact Tracy at office@godsacre.org to learn more. 

Filling in the Blanks aims to fight childhood hunger by providing children in need with weekend meals. Filling in the Blanks fulfills this mission by delivering meals directly to children from low-income families each weekend to bridge the gap when they are not receiving nutrition from their schools, after-school programs, or camps. When enrolled in the program, children benefit by knowing where their weekend meals will come from, and they arrive at school each Monday morning ready to learn. The expected outcome is to remove one worry from their lives, put them on more equal ground with their food-secure peers, and provide consistent nutritional support. Every weekend, students in the program receive a weekend meal bag containing four meals and four snacks. 

The program is designed to allow every child consistent access to life’s most basic necessities, enough food. Since 2013, Filling in the Blanks has delivered over 2.3 million individual meals to local children who are food-insecure in Fairfield and Westchester Counties. Filling in the Blanks has increased the number of children served each year since 2013. Seventy new locations have been added to the Weekend Meal Program since June 2022. Children are added weekly. Meals are currently being delivered to 5,316 students at 155 preschools, schools, or after-school programs in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Danbury, Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, and Westport, CT, as well as in Bedford and Mt. Kisco, NY. As an extension of our Weekend Meal Program, Filling in the Blanks has implemented a School Based Pantry at two high schools, where they deliver weekend meal bags. These pantries will increase access to healthy food for the students enrolled and give them the power of choice over their food.