Sustainability begins with ensuring our children have the resources they need to be happy, healthy, and safe. In partnering with Every Meal, Mall of America® aims to help ensure the children of our community have healthy, nutritious food with dignity.
Every Meal is a project initiated by Las Estrellas Dual Language School, formally Sheridan Elementary School, in Northeast Minneapolis in collaboration with Mill City Church and Woodridge Church. The staff of Sheridan Elementary found that several students—many of whom receive free or reduced lunches while at school—were hoarding food from the lunchroom on Fridays in order to have food to eat during the weekend. The Every Meal program is designed to fight child hunger by providing hungry children a weekend’s supply of food.
Every Meal has grown to support schools beyond Sheridan Elementary, and demand for meals increased 400% during the pandemic. Finding sufficient warehouse space within the Twin Cities metropolitan area was challenging and cost-prohibitive. After reaching out to the Mall, Every Meal now has more than 30,000 square feet of rent-free warehouse space to pursue its mission of fighting child hunger through community and school partnerships.
Sustainability takes many forms, but Mall of America believes sustaining our children is an absolute priority. Partnering with Every Meal helps us do just that.