Summer meals program makes good neighbors in Edinburg

EDINBURG  —  Kids and their parents make her office building come alive every Monday and Friday morning.

That’s just one of the many benefits Melissa DeLeon cites about a new program collaboration she and others initiated this year to feed local children. Twice a week, about 30 neighborhood kids come in with their parents for breakfast and lunch  —  with a side order of good advice on healthy living.

DeLeon is a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for Hidalgo County in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.

She partnered with several other agencies, including the Texas Hunger Initiative, to provide healthy food this summer for local children.

The Summer Meals for Our Neighboring Community in Edinburg is aimed at low-income children ages six-months to 19 years.

The Texas Hunger Initiative is a project of the Baylor University School of Social Work. Its goal is to develop and implement strategies to end hunger through policy, education, research, community organizing and community development.

“The latest statistics show that 20 percent of Texans, or 26 million people, are food insecure,” DeLeon said. “That ranks us second in the nation as of 2010. So the goal is to decrease food insecurity and hunger.”

With funding from the Texas Hunger Initiative, DeLeon and others at the AgriLife Extension office in Edinburg provide a healthy breakfast to local children, then instruct them on a variety of topics having to do with healthy living.

“The time goes by really fast and before you know it, it’s time to serve lunch,” she said.

Both meals vary. Breakfast can consist of one serving each of milk, fruit, grain bread and meat or meat alternate. Lunch includes a single serving of milk, grain bread and meat or meat alternative and two or more servings of vegetables and/or fruit.

“We try to include food from the five major food groups, with a minimum of four food groups represented,” DeLeon said.

Activities after breakfast include coloring, outdoor physical activities, a 30- to 40-minute curricular presentation and an invited speaker.

Presentations include information on hygiene, exercise, healthy eating and other health-related topics.

Children also participate in lessons titled “Exploring My Plate with Professor Popcorn,” developed with curriculum by Purdue University Extension and created by AgriLife Extension specialists in family and consumer sciences and 4-H youth development.

“It’s a lot of fun for the children, and they learn valuable lessons on good nutrition and food safety at summer programs like ours, as well as at after-school activities during the  school year,” DeLeon said.

Invited speakers discuss topics ranging from sports and professional careers to community services and dental health.

“As guest speakers we’ve had representatives from the Edinburg police and fire departments, Southland Dairy Farmers, Hidalgo County 4-H, HEB, Lowe’s, the RGV Basketball NBA D-League and Zoo Dental.”

DeLeon said she and others in the AgriLife Extension office chip in out of their own pockets to provide sandwiches and fruit for the parents who bring their kids.

Participants were attracted to the program via flyers distributed door-to-door and to local businesses that agree to display the flyers.

“Our AgriLife Extension office has been at the same location for decades,” she said. “We’re located in a working-class neighborhood, but people have been driving or walking by for years and never knew what AgriLife Extension did. So we’re making lots of friends, meeting our neighbors and providing them with meals and information that they are very thankful for.”

DeLeon said one parent, a foreman at a local packing shed, brought in some free cantaloupes.

“We’re here to provide food, not take away food, but the gentleman insisted that we share the fruit with the kids and parents that come in, which we did,” she said. “People are just so appreciative.”

DeLeon herself is also appreciative of what the community did for her in her time of need. She sees this project not only as part of her job, but as a way to give back.

“I experienced a job loss back in 2011, found out I was pregnant and ended up losing my home. But the Lord provided. I had lots of help from several organizations, including Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, my church and the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley.”

Of the eight counties in Texas with an Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Hidalgo County is the first to offer such an outreach activity, DeLeon said.

Luisa Colin, AgriLife Extension’s southern region family and consumer sciences program leader, said the agency’s office for Hidalgo County wasted no time in partnering with the Texas Hunger Initiative program in the Rio Grande Valley to set up a six-week summer meals program and youth nutrition camp.

“Melissa DeLeon and the educators in the Edinburg office have done an excellent job in making sure that the partnership of these two agencies provide our youth with both nutrition knowledge and a nutritious meal,” Colin said. “These are two valuable and visible programs that work toward improving the quality of life in our communities.”