As a first year VISTA , I wasn’t sure what to expect for my day to day tasks. My first few months as a VISTA have been challenging, rewarding and fun. As a VISTA it is my duty to help fight poverty within the community, whether it is direct service or something behind the scenes.
Picture this. You forgot to eat breakfast or didn’t have time, and you are about to sit through a three hour important meeting. You see someone across the room open a granola bar and your stomach starts to growl. Will you be able to pay attention in the meeting on an empty stomach?
Many children in the Dallas area are food insecure and don’t know when their next meal will be. School is where most poverty stricken kids get their meals from. Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, is served before school starts at most campuses. A lot of the students don’t make it on time for breakfast or don’t want to eat breakfast because of the stigma behind it that only poor kids eat breakfast at school. When kids eat breakfast, they are more focused in their classrooms, are less likely to be obese, and will be less likely to misbehave.
One of my responsibilities is outreaching to North Texas area schools that have a high number of students that are eligible for free for reduced meals but have a low participation rate. By increasing their participation rate more kids will start the day with a full stomach and it also benefits the school financially.
When I met with the first school, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily the Schools Nutrition Director was more than thrilled to offer Universal Free Breakfast for all the students and accept our help. He wholeheartedly agreed that no child should start the day hungry.
I was very excited that my first meeting with a school went so well. Knowing that I influenced the change and helped the process was personally rewarding. I am looking forward to outreaching to more schools in my year and help more kids start the day with breakfast.
Amisha Patel is a Project Coordinator and AmeriCorps VISTA at C@R. AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA has been on the front lines in the fight against poverty in America for 45 years.