Discover the inspiring journey of Meals 4 Kids, a Meals on Wheels People program funded by the Portland Children’s Levy, as it celebrates 10 years of delivering nutritious meals to families in need.
On a beautiful Monday morning in June, Maritza Perez, operations manager for Meals 4 Kids, knocks on Maria’s door. As the door opens, Maria’s 7-year-old daughter peeks out from behind her mother. Maritza hands over reusable bags filled with fresh groceries, and Maria smiles warmly as she takes them inside. Maria’s daughter eagerly helps her unpack the bags, their kitchen filling with the sight of fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, bread, and packages of raw chicken and ground beef. Maria sets the chicken on the counter to defrost, planning to make one of her family’s favorite dinners: pasta con pollo.
Meals 4 Kids (M4K), a program by Meals on Wheels People (MOWP), is a critical resource for hundreds of families facing circumstances that make accessing nutritious food challenging, be it due to lack of transportation, chronic illness, or other barriers. The program currently serves over 400 families by delivering directly to homes each week both frozen, premade meals as well as bags of fresh groceries for families to cook meals matching their cultural preferences.
The program’s origins trace back to 2013, when Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman had a vision to expand the impact of the Portland Children’s Levy by addressing a critical issue: child hunger. Dan, a longtime volunteer for Meals on Wheels People, recognized our expertise in delivering nutritious meals to older adults and saw potential for a similar program targeting children and families facing food insecurity.
“I thought Meals on Wheels would be a perfect candidate to step into an area like this — they have so much expertise in how to deliver meals — and it fills a gap,” Dan explains. “A lot of the other programs, like after-school meals, are based on doing something at school. This would be different — taking food to the child’s home. It’s a breakthrough in the whole approach to child hunger.”
Meals 4 Kids officially launched July 1, 2014, after successfully applying for a PCL grant.
A Decade of Growth and Evolution
Meals 4 Kids Operations Manager Maritza Perez loads food into an electric vehicle. Staff and volunteers deliver food to over 400 families each week.
Jessica Morris, chief people and strategy officer at MOWP, has been at the helm of Meals 4 Kids since its inception. Like the MOWP older adult program, M4K sends staffers and volunteers on weekly visits to households to drop off food. Families are referred to the program through social service agencies, nonprofits, and health clinics. The program serves families who are making less than 185% of the federal poverty level. Qualifying heads of household tend to have a disability or major barriers to their ability to access food or prepare meals at home for their children.
Over the past decade, the program has grown exponentially, serving over 879 caregivers and 1,231 kids and delivering approximately 323,000 meals last year alone. One of the key innovations of Meals 4 Kids is the introduction of the raw food program. About 80% of the families M4K serves identify as Black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), and staff were hearing from them that they wanted to cook their own food. “Unlike many of our older adult participants, they have the ability to cook the food. It’s getting to the food that is really a challenge for them,” Jessica says. M4K started piloting a program where families receive the raw components — protein, starches, and fresh vegetables — and prepare meals to their own cultural preferences. Now, about 75% of the families M4K serves receive the raw food delivery. “It’s a much more inclusive way to make it so the people get the food that they want,” says M4K Food Service Manager Josh Hancock.
Operational Synergies and Community Impact
Maritza stands at the door ready to deliver food in a reusable bag, a practice Meals 4 Kids has adopted and which has also influenced Meals on Wheels People’s older adult services.
Meals 4 Kids not only aligns with Meals on Wheels People’s mission to use our expertise and capacity to serve other nutritionally at-risk populations but also supports the organization overall. Funding from the Portland Children’s Levy covers Meals 4 Kids’ staff and food costs and helps cover a percentage of overhead costs, such as kitchen operations. “It’s a contract that benefits both the community and Meals on Wheels People,” Jessica says.
The program has also influenced MOWP’s older adult services. “Efficiencies are adopted on both sides,” Josh says. “If one of us sees us doing something smarter, better, it is adopted and very quickly.” M4K made the switch to reusable bags, which the older adult program has now started to implement. The older adult program is also now exploring tailored grocery box delivery.
“We are serving more immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC older adults,” Jessica says. “What we’ve heard from the community leaders we met with over the past year is they want the raw food product because they live in multigenerational households, they have somebody in the household who can prepare the meals, and they want to prepare them to their own cultural preferences.”
Meals 4 Kids goes beyond meal delivery to support families in various ways. In partnership with the Youth Charity League, the program conducts a summer book drive, providing over 3,000 books to children. Additionally, through a toy drive collaboration with Toys for Tots, over 1,000 toys were distributed to kids during the holiday season.
The Heartwarming Impact on Families
Maria, who signed up for Meals 4 Kids because her family was struggling financially, sits on her couch. She, her husband, and their three kids receive a grocery box of food each week that she then cooks into nutritious meals.
The real impact of Meals 4 Kids is best seen through the eyes of its beneficiaries. Maria, a program participant for seven years, shares in Spanish how M4K has been a lifeline for her family of five, with Maritza translating. “It’s made a huge difference, especially during the pandemic when everything was more expensive,” Maria says. “It helps us afford groceries. It encourages me to continue cooking instead of buying premade things that aren’t as healthy. My kids have become used to eating healthier, and we’re incorporating fish into our diet. We’d definitely be struggling without the program.”
Another participant, Katie, whose son has autism and epilepsy, emphasizes the program’s importance. “Having a child with special needs and a very restrictive diet is very expensive,” says Katie, who is a full-time caregiver. “Meals 4 Kids has given us a balance. Now, we can all eat properly and healthily. It’s reduced my stress and allowed me to focus more on taking care of things rather than worrying about food.”
When emergencies arise, Meals 4 Kids is quick to respond. “People call up: ‘We have lost everything. Can you help us?’ More times than you can imagine, we have been to those houses the same day with food,” Josh says.
Maritza says that on a recent participant satisfaction survey, one mom mentioned that her children are so inspired by the Meals 4 Kids program that they hope to be part of it when they grow older. “She said they’re looking forward to helping people just like the way that we do,” Maritza says.
The volunteers who deliver the meals are the backbone of Meals 4 Kids. Every week, the program needs 50 volunteers to drive the routes. Volunteers are also needed to sanitize reusable bags and assist with packing over 5,000 meals a week and portioning bulk food items. Dick Willis, a dedicated volunteer driver who delivers three days a week, shares the joy he experiences: “It’s pure joy,” he says. “I get to know the families. The kids love pulling all of the food out of the bags. I don’t speak Spanish, and there are a lot of families that Spanish is their first language. But the language is smiles.”
The Support Behind the Success
The support from the Portland Children’s Levy has been crucial to the success of Meals 4 Kids. “We could not have done what we’ve done over the past 10 years without them,” Jessica says. “Not only their sustained funding for the program but their complete commitment to flexibility and ensuring the services that we provide actually are what the community needs.”
Commissioner Dan Ryan, chair of the PCL’s Allocation Committee states: “The Portland Children’s Levy is proud to support the Meals 4 Kids home meal delivery program. The program provides a critical service for children and caregivers experiencing food insecurity and who have barriers to accessing other food resources. The home delivery model is so crucial for children and caregivers who might be experiencing chronic illness or lack of transportation. We know that children who have reliable access to nutritious food do better academically, emotionally, and socially. Meals 4 Kids has played an important role in the success of hundreds of Portland children in school and in life.”
Looking Ahead: A Bright Future
As Meals 4 Kids celebrates its 10th anniversary, the future looks promising with the upcoming move to a new Meals on Wheels People building on 82nd Avenue. This space, currently being renovated, will provide the much-needed room for growth and efficiency in meal preparation and delivery. “We get to have our own freezer space, our own packing space, our own door for volunteer drivers,” Jessica shares with excitement. “This move will benefit both the children’s program and our Central Kitchen, allowing us to continue to ramp up production and services for elders within our community.”
Hear from Chief People and Strategy Officer Jessica Morris, Operations Manager Maritza Perez, and Food Service Manager Josh Hancock as they share why the program is crucial, what it means to them, and their excitement for the future.
From the program’s inception to its current success, Meals 4 Kids has demonstrated the power of community, innovation, and compassion in addressing child hunger. As we celebrate this milestone, we look forward to many more years of making a difference in the lives of Portland’s children and families.
If you want to help feed the need and support the vital work of Meals on Wheels People in our community, please consider making a donation today. Your generosity will be felt by many folks in our community who need us now, more than ever.
