Our Goal
To ensure that no child tries to learn on an empty stomach, starting with kids right here in our own neighborhoods throughout Chicago.
Our Story
A letter from the founder:
Lunch Heroes was born out of a desire to alleviate a nationwide food scarcity issue by creating change through something so routine as lunch.
My name is Claire. I'm a certified elementary teacher who noticed something during my time student teaching that made me think, "Hey, couldn't this be different? Isn't there a better way?"
You see, not all of my 29 students were sent to school with a healthy lunch and snack option. I saw how the students who didn't have nutritious brain fuel were the very same students who struggled to focus by our afternoon math class. These were the very same students who couldn't complete their school work on time. They didn't believe in themselves.
They didn't have confidence in their potential to succeed. You see, I KNEW that they were good at math. I KNEW that they were capable-- they just simply lacked energy to sustain their minds.
I thought, "is this a problem that expands beyond my handful of students?" I did a quick google search and learned that over 13 million children from
low-income families go to school hungry.
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Lunch is something we eat every day! But now, we have the choice to Buy a Lunch in order to Give a Lunch. Because no kid should sit at school hungry.
Because we have the power to make a real difference.
Buy One. Give One.
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THE LUNCH CHOICE THAT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE
Every lunch you Buy means we Give a nutritious meal to a kid who would otherwise go without. It's a little gesture that goes a long way. But you don't have to live in Chicago to be part of our community of Giving. You can absolutely Give a lunch from afar, too! Every lunch counts. With a good lunch in their tummies, kids do better in so many ways from helping them focus on learning to simply just putting a smile on their faces when they see a homemade meal made just for them.
What goes inside the school
Our homemade School Meals include:
A wholegrain sandwich with a protein and salad filling
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A healthy snack (carrot sticks, yogurt, fruit)
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Chips (pretzels, cheez-its, popcorn)
A treat (granola bar, fruit snacks, cookies)