By Heather Bennett Eye
After overcoming the economic effects of COVID and supply chain issues that many organizations had to endure over the last couple of years, Food for Thought has entered its 13th school year of assisting food-insecure students, and great things are happening within the organization. I caught up with Founder Tiffanie Nelson to discuss details, and how our community can get involved.
If you’re not familiar with Food for Thought, they are a nonprofit organization that provides meals and snacks to children who are dependent on free or reduced school meals, bridging meal gaps that might occur on the weekends or during holidays, so kids can focus less on where they are going to get their next meal and more on their schoolwork. They literally provide food for thought for students in Walton and Okaloosa counties.
This is the first year since 2019 that they’ve been able to add new schools to their program, and this year they were able to add three (one in Walton County and two in Okaloosa County), assisting 400 more food-insecure students. “After 2 1/2 years of operating modified from the pandemic, it’s fulfilling to see us able to start expanding our outreach again,” stated Tiffanie. Food for Thought now assists students in every public school in Walton County. “No public school in our area is exempt from a food-insecure population,” she explained. “There are children in every school. Every student should have access to the same tools and resources for them to thrive.” Food for Thought will also be providing meals to 700 families over Thanksgiving and Christmas break this year.
Tiffanie is also proud to announce that their Emeril Lagasse Foundation Full Circle Kitchen now has a full-time culinary instructor and the kitchen once again has a full schedule. In the spring of 2016, Food for Thought opened their Full Circle Kitchen for children 14-19 years old to learn cooking skills and how to read recipes. During the last couple of years due to the pandemic, the kitchen was not fully operational. “We’re bringing in some of the high-risk students into our classes and they can learn core cooking skills,” said Tiffanie. “They get great life skills and mentorship.” Food for Thought also started a Culinary Kids Club, whose donation-based classes help fund the kitchen’s program.
Food for Thought is also preparing for its 4th Annual Brunch with Santa Fundraiser on Sunday, December 3, 2023. This is a family-friendly event that will include photo opportunities with Santa, holiday crafts, and holiday-themed adult beverages. The organization has always been privately funded, and Tiffanie is looking forward to the community support. “The wonderful part of being privately funded is it inherently requires the ongoing support and involvement of the community,” stated Tiffanie. “Food for Thought belongs to all of us.”
There are a lot of moving parts that go into providing food each week. “The staff makes it look effortless, but there’s a lot of effort in it,” said Tiffanie. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are usually spent securing, purchasing, and moving food items. Thursday is spent packing, and Friday is delivery day. With a staff of less than 10, they are able to schedule over 200 volunteer shifts, move 36,000 food items, raise money to run the program and train new volunteers. “Our volunteer base is a core resource,” stated Tiffanie. “We don’t always have everything we need, but we find a way to make it happen.”
So how can you help? There are tasks for all ages and all abilities on different days of the week. They serve 35 schools in the area. Do you pass one on the way to work? Do you have an extra hour, at least one Friday a month? If you are an adult driver, please consider delivering to a school near you. If you are interested in volunteering, please email volunteer@fftfl.org, or for more information on Food for Thought, please visit their website at www.fftfl.org.
