HERMANN — Hermann High School Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) completed a Kids Feeding Kids service-learning project on Nov. 19

Forty-five Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) students prepared 470 servings of Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili with Salsa, providing nutritious, ready-to-heat meals for local families.

Child Development students kicked off the day by folding placemat sets they had created entitled “Mindful Mealtime” to accompany the Kids Feeding Kids meals. Each mat included family-time activities, simple mindfulness tips, table-conversation starters, and recipe ideas designed to help families connect. The goal of their project was to encourage families to talk, engage, and be present with one another rather than eating in silence — a program designed to help strengthen communication and relationships at the dinner table.

That same day, FCCLA members distributed nearly 120 free meal packs (four servings each) to patrons of the Hermann Community Food Pantry. While on-site, members also volunteered with the pantry’s farm-fresh food dispersal, which takes place every third Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at City Hall.

Kids Feeding Kids equips FCS classrooms with curriculum focused on food access, reducing food insecurity, and understanding food waste, real-world, hands-on experience planning, preparing and packaging family-sized meals, while also learning about food insecurity in their own community.

Culinary 1 and 2 students at Hermann High School hold ServSafe certifications, and all meals were safely prepared under the supervision of a certified ServSafe instructor. The students do their own research to select a donation partner in their community whose services focus on supporting food-insecure families with children. In addition to preparing meals for families in need, students learn about the causes of food insecurity, maximizing nutrition, food safety and sanitation, plant-focused and sustainable food systems, and improving the quality of family mealtime.

The Kids Feeding Kids program was launched by Pete’s Garden of Kansas City in 2021 with major support from Patrick and Brittany Mahomes and the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our community and to provide a meal made with care by our students,” said Hermann FCCLA Adviser, Lana Koelling. “Thank you for welcoming this fresh, nutritious meal from our kitchen into your home.”