MUNCIE, INDIANA.--- Carrots and beets, two foods some kids may never want to try. But when served with the classic mac & cheese, it makes it easier to eat them.
This is just one of the many meals Inside Out makes for children in Delaware County. This organization started out as Blood and Fire Ministries and the founders decided to create Inside Out to reach a vulnerable community.
“We recognized the desperate need to really be able to focus on children who were food insecure,” Bob Ball, Found Executive Director said.
1 in 3 children are food insecure and Inside Out works to feed children through various afterschool programs in the county. Kids get a hot, healthy meal at the end of the school day and it is all cooked in the Inside Out Kitchen.
“They try things they’ve never tried before,” Ball said.
In 2022, Inside Out made 68,000 meals and served 200 students and since starting in 2022, they have served over 500,000 meals. The kitchen has also become a place for kids to get a meal and learn how to cook one as well.
“We have kids that we served years ago that are now coming in where they are working in our kitchen and they are feeding their friends and kids the meals they once ate,” Ball said.
Through this program and others, Ball hopes the generation they are feeding now will feed more in the future.
“If we want to change Muncie, we need to change our kids and if we are going to change our kids they need to have enough to eat,” Ball said.
If you want to volunteer or donate to Inside Out, you can visit insideoutmuncie.com.
Contact Anna Chalker with comments at alchalker@bsu.edu
