Working on the Live Healthy Miami Gardens Project has been great! By unpopular opinion, surveying has been an awesome experience and has also helped build momentum for the project. People grew their interest in the project and it brought more attention to their health decisions. It was interesting to see people’s interpretations of our project’s goal and how they related it to their own lives. Traveling from universities to stores and to local parks has shown me the intensity of surveying, however, it is a great technique to reach as many people as possible!

I also participated in the recruiting local stores for the project. This uncovered which businesses are motivated to give back to the community and also introduce more healthier options in the stores. Some owners were more willing than others, but this is only the beginning.

We came up with a list of amazing stores that showed interest in participating in the Live Healthy Miami Gardens project. It was great to hear the owner’s concerns about stock, price, and quality.

Our efforts are going to help build a relationship with store owners and in turn improve their relationship with the community. I look forward to the future success of working with the City of Miami Gardens and Florida Impact to End Hunger!

#teamstories

This summer, I was blessed beyond belief when I became a youth ambassador for No Kid Hungry and Florida Impact to End Hunger. I have learned invaluable skills that I know I can take anywhere I go, and I have formed amazing bonds with my coworkers. Though I knew many communities I would work in were in food deserts, this internship helped me understand the intersectionality of hunger, economic, and even racial status. Most of the children that I got to know this summer were joyous and really wanted to make the most out of their summer. However, at first, they were hesitant to let me be part of their lives. Everyday I continued to be consistent in my efforts to reach them as they began to trust me more and more, and even started getting attached to me.

Throughout the summer, I found that the kids really valued the program because it gave them stability – they organized their days around mealtimes. The meals were enhanced by the multiple activities I planned as well as the partner agencies that we booked to come stimulate the kids. Summer is the hungriest time for kids in need and it is also a time where those same children backslide on the progress they made throughout the school year. So one of my goals this summer was to entertain them in an educational way – I ensured that they had fun, but also that they learned something new every day. From reading to them, to teaching them about how to communicate their feelings effectively to rewarding them with a dance-ice cream party, I learned so much about how amazing those children were.

Since this program is designed for the kids, I always stressed the importance of their input, from the lunches they were served to the partners who came out to entertain them. Most of the kids reported liking the lunches served last summer better.

With regards to the partners, Flipany, Swim Central, and Broward Sheriffs Office Outreach (BSO) were favorites among all of my sites. Some sites felt like one favorite partner had less involvement than the prior years and were disappointed. Personally, I created activity days for my sites and all of the kids were fans of them. Some favorite activities included Bob Ross Day (where we paint to express our emotions), Dance Dance Day (The last one still dancing wins a prize), and Future Day (Where we talk about what we want to do in the future and I bring them advice and resources).

This program is a blessing for the communities that get to experience it and has helped so many kids during a difficult summer period. It was my honor and pleasure to be part of something so life-changing.

Throughout the summer, I have participated in efforts to minimize the effects of food insecurity among children in Miami-Dade County. This included improving interactions between community members and outside groups. Furthermore, our work by participating in enrichment activities promoted community engagement. We were able to match the interests of the children we worked with while also meeting their needs.

Goals were met to introduce healthier lifestyles to the communities and to build relationships with the children and their families. We fueled their curiosity about healthy living and shown how we can make it possible together. There was no greater feeling to see children waiting for us as we arrived to the mobile suite and to greeted us with hugs and smiles. It was a phenomenal experience getting to learn about the conditions of the county to then pitch ideas of improvement in the future.

Florida is getting healthier and stronger each day, especially with the work of Florida Impact to End Hunger. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to work within a community and to be a part of a groundbreaking movement. This experience also has reassured me to pursue a career in community engagement and contribute to healthier environments.

– Shirbrina Jefferson

This summer I had the pleasure of working with Florida Impact to End Hunger as a Youth Ambassador. This was the first internship that allowed me to have a direct impact on the people I intended to help. I worked with children in four of our super cites, we shared stories, learned about one another and built bonds.

The internship allowed me to see the world through the eyes of these amazing children, they taught me different things about their culture as I taught them different things about mine. This experience would not have taken place without Florida Impact to End Hunger and No Kid Hungry. I have many many memories and I hope to use the knowledge I have gained in my communication field as well as in the development of my non-profit organization.

– Daina Barrett

On April 11th, 2018, Florida Impact and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) showcased the success of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) implementation in over 100 schools in Orange County, Florida during the 2017-2018 school year.

Speakers included representatives from OCPS Food and Nutrition Services, school principals, operation field managers, and cafeteria managers. Participants learned about OCPS, what alternative breakfast models are currently being offered (including Breakfast In the Classroom and Grab and Go), and just how successful CEP implementation and breakfast model alternatives can be in increasing average daily participation (ADP).

Download the resources from the Webinar here!

Webinar recording

Powerpoint slides

OCPS School video on breakfast implementation