Fighting Student Hunger is a Family Affair: Bozeman Schools Foundation Partners with Urban Kitchen & Nina’s Tacos Owners to Raise Funds for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank on Apr 14, 2022
Building on the success of the annual Pack the Sack campaign, which raised over $22,000 for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank’s Healthy Kids Pack in February, the Bozeman Schools Foundation has joined with local restaurant owners, Joe and Megan Romano, to host a second fundraising event to raise additional funds for the county wide program that provides weekend meal packages for over 400 students in Gallatin County.
“The Bozeman Schools Foundation has partnered with the food bank every February for 3 years, successfully raising funds from our students and families for this important program” noted BSF Executive Director, Jennifer Lammers. “With the help of Joe and Meg’s daughter Nina, who has been interning at the Foundation, this year’s campaign received even greater visibility and wider community support, for which we are very grateful.”
In February, Melissa and Burke Moran, owners of the Rib & Chop House hosted a fundraiser and awareness event at their Bozeman location, raising approximately $1700 in donated proceeds and patron contributions. On April 14, 2022, the Romanos will be hosting a similar event, plus raffle at Urban Kitchen.
“As business owners – and a family – we have focused a number of our philanthropic and charitable efforts on fighting hunger and doing what we can for those in need,” said Megan Romano. ”We are honored to be able to support the Bozeman Schools Foundation and the Gallatin Valley Food Bank to raise funds and increase community awareness of student hunger.”
1 in 8 students face food insecurity and hunger in the Gallatin Valley and the lingering impact of the pandemic continues to place a strain on many families. “Unfortunately, childhood hunger occurs under the radar in so many areas of our community. Children should be able to live an active and healthy lifestyle, where they can learn and grow without worrying about accessing their next meal. The Healthy KidsPack program works to address the weekend hunger gap that many kids face through school pantries and supplemental bags of nutritious food” explained Lyra Leigh-Nedbor, manager of Child Nutrition Programs for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. “The success of HRDC’s Healthy KidsPack Program would not be possible without the support of community members and organizations. The Bozeman Schools Foundation has been an invaluable partner and ambassador to the Healthy KidsPack program. By utilizing their network the Bozeman Schools Foundation has been able to expand the knowledge of the program and provide essential operating funds to ensure the program can continue to grow and thrive. We are immensely grateful for their unwavering partnership.”
“I chose student poverty and food insecurity as the focus of my Senior Project at Bozeman High School” explained Nina Romano. “That experience made me want to find an internship where I could make a difference. As a Bozeman Schools Foundation Intern I helped organize and support the annual Pack the Sack fundraiser. As proud as I am that we raised over $20,000 in 2 weeks, I really felt as a community we could do more. I knew that other businesses would be willing to help students in need and thought that another event and a raffle would be a good way to get others involved – and raise more money.”
In addition to enlisting the generous support of her parents, the younger Romano successfully convinced many local businesses to contribute to the raffle, which feature six great gift baskets. Baskets combine items from local businesses such as Bridger Detail, The Lark, Bronken’s Distribution, Apricot Lane, The Big Sky Summit, Montana Video Company, Capelli’s Salon, Blackbird, Daves Sushi, Moka, Rocking R Bar, The Loft, the local Massage Therapist Joy Johnson, and Gallatin Valley Furniture. Details of each basket can be found in the information provided below.
All proceeds from the April 14 fundraiser and the raffle will go toward creating weekend KidsPacks for local students in need.
The community can help in three ways:
- Join friends, neighbors and colleagues at Urban Kitchen for lunch, dinner or drinks on April 14. 10% of proceeds for the day will be donated to the KidsPack program.
- Make a donation during your meal or online through the links provided below. All donations will support the KidsPack Program.
- Buy raffle tickets online, starting April 1, 2022. Tickets will be sold until April 14, 2022. Winners will be drawn on April 15, 2022.
Link and QR Code for Raffle and Donations
Link to buy tickets or donate: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/kprt/event/847437/
Link to BSF website: https://bozemanschoolsfoundation.org/event/kidspack-fundraiser-at-urban-kitchen/?event_date=2022-04-14
