2021 Team Service Days
LHD is fortunate to have leadership that recognizes the importance of serving and supporting our community. The LHD Community Outreach Committee is grateful we were able to have everyone back together for the 2021 Team Service Days. Thank you to all participants! We served at four organizations this year: Gleaners, Little Sisters of the Poor, Brooke’s Place, and the Patachou Farm.
The Patachou Foundation Volunteer Day
LHD volunteers spent the morning working on The Patachou Foundation’s urban farm. After a brief run down on how the farm helps to supplement meals for kids and support the Patachou Foundation’s education initiatives, we were put to work expanding their urban farm so that next year they will have more room to plant. They use the “lasagna method” to build new planting beds, so we first laid cardboard down (to get the cardboard a certain LHD partner and new employee may or may not have gone dumpster diving!)
Next we covered the cardboard with a thick layer of wood chips and prepped the space for soil. In addition to expanding the farm we did some weeding, pruning, and removal of plants on the farm. The Patachou Foundation serves 2,000 scratch made meals per week to kids through partnerships with schools and community centers, with the harvests from the urban farm going into the meals.
Break the Cycle of Hunger in Our Community
The Patachou Foundation prepares and serves healthy meals to children impacted by poverty and hunger and increases their awareness, connection, and excitement about food. Our meal service is complemented by hands-on educational programming to combat food insecurity at its core to break the cycle of hunger in our community.
Our chef prepares a special menu of kid-friendly dishes each week in our production kitchen. In addition to serving 2,000 after-school meals at eight Indianapolis schools each week, our volunteers take time to pull up a chair and create positive relationships around the dinner table. Patachou Foundation staff and volunteers also teach students weekly experiential food literacy and cooking lessons with simple ingredients and kitchen tools.
Nearly 80% of kids attending the schools The Patachou Foundation serves live at or below poverty and are faced with daily food insecurity and hunger. Indianapolis is ranked worst in the nation for access to fresh foods, so even if resources are available, access to fresh food is not. Indianapolis area schools are not equipped with working ovens or functioning kitchens. Federally funded food programs typically fall short, leaving kids with only processed, unhealthy food choices. Many children go home to empty cupboards and empty refrigerators. For most of the children The Patachou Foundation serves, the pre-packaged school breakfasts and lunches are the only guaranteed meals of the day. The lack of quality food access creates a negative impact on school attendance, behavior in and out of school, and overall health.
Cultivate an equitable future for youth by amplifying the value and power of food.
Learn more about volunteer opportunities with the Patachou Foundation at thepatachoufoundation.org/volunteer.
