Mighty Mustang Meals is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and came about from conversations with our club and class sponsors looking for ways for the students to get involved in service projects. Then, were began discussing a way to have an interactive service project that our high school students could get involved with and that would benefit our community. Four of us organized, put our ideas together, and came up with a service project for the entire school with a lasting impact for all involved.
The project initially identified 23 students that have food insecurities so the program was off and running from the start. After that, we also look at our kids that, when they get their lunch trays, they are eating everything off of their trays. Then they’re looking around at the other kids’ trays and asking for food. Those kids are probably not going to get a meal in the evening so they’re trying to get as much food at school as they can.
Food insecurity is
a lack of consistent access to enough food
for an active, healthy life.
What Is Food Insecurity in America?
Hunger & Health
DeSoto County, one of the most affluent districts, in Mississippi has over 24 thousand residents experiencing food insecurity. 25 percent of those, are children at Center Hill high school.
The organization is helping to alleviate the problem of food insecurity within its elementary schools. The school-wide service project is designed to provide children with sufficient food that they would not have otherwise.
For a few kids, this becomes various issues, such as actually stealing food from the cafeteria because they needed it to eat at home. The effects of this outreach program have been evident in the physical and mental health of students at Center hill and over Park Elementary as well as their behavior in and out of the classroom since we have started. We have not had one issue with kids feeling hungry. Those who were taking that extra food stopped, with an alternative path. Mighty Mustang Meals has given the students of Center Hill High School the opportunity to give back to the community through their time, money, or by donating food.
We all know that children come to school to learn but we also know that if children are hungry they cannot learn: one of the things that the Mighty Mustang Meals is helping is to make certain that they can have meals over the weekend. This way they come in on Monday ready to learn. They now perform better in school and they’re not hungry anymore. We are grateful for Mighty Mustang Meals’s ability to also continue impacting the lives of students through the summer and holiday seasons.
Food insecurity can have detrimental effects on a student’s academic and behavioral performance. Young children experiencing food insecurity are more likely to develop aggressive tendencies, depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, developmental delays, and other behavioral problems.
According to the American Psychological Association