Believe it or not, summer is quickly approaching! While many kids are looking forward to spending time at home, being with friends and enjoying the summer weather, there are also many kids that are uncertain for how they will be fed during the week without their school providing meals. 

For the last eight summers, Food For Thought Outreach has provided food to students in need while they are on Summer Break.  Students that are on free and reduced meal programs during the school year, miss on average 110 meals over the summer, which is why Food For Thought does not stop providing meals to kids over Summer Break. 

The FFT Summer Program serves both Okaloosa and Walton Counties, providing 66K meals to 600 students over three months.  The students involved in the summer program are able to pick up a month's worth of food, three times at our pick-up locations located within both counties.

By continuing to keep kids fed throughout the summer, it is empowering these students to stay nourished and not worry about where their next meal will come from while they are out of school.  We are looking forward to be able to provide food to our students throughout the summer in hopes they will be able to enjoy their break as much as possible. 

Will you consider to sponsor a family over the summer? There are three ways that you can donate today for our Summer Program: 

• $35 - Feeds a student for a week
• $175 - Feeds a student for a month
• $375 - Feeds a student for the whole summer

As we are prepping for the Summer Meal Program, Food For Thought will be hosting three separate food drives in Walton and Okaloosa county.  At each location, the Food For Thought Van will be present, where you can bring a pre-packaged food item to donate for the summer meal program.  There are 600 families that are part of the FFT Summer Meal program, creating a need for 6,600 food items to be distributed to these families.

Here are the dates and locations for each of the "Cram the Van" Food Drives so you can help:

At the Pizza-by-the-Sea, Watercolor Crossings Location, if you bring 5 food items to donate, they will give you 50% off of a pizza purchased (same day).

At the Destin Winn-Dixie and at Grand Boulevard, bring in 10 items to Cram the Van, and you will be entered into a drawing.

Suggested pantry items:

During each of these food drives, a Food For Thought Staff member will be there to answer any questions, as well as share current volunteer opportunities.  

Look for one of the Food for Thought Vans at each of these locations to drop food off.  Thank you for your support to keep kids from being hungry over the summer!

 More Event Info HERE

Our Crawfish Boil is THIS SUNDAY, and we want you to join us! If you have not signed up already, now is the time! 100% of all proceeds will be used for Food For Thought's Summer Program; you do not want to miss out on this fun family event!

The Crawfish Boil will be held at our Santa Rosa Pantry (Directions can be found HERE) from 12-3pm on Sunday, May 5th.  We will be featuring the culinary talents of Michael McIntosh (Henderson Beachwalk Cafe) and David Cunningham (Formerly a Chef at Trebeche).  During the Crawfish Boil, you will also be able to enjoy the music of Scott Rockwood and Friends.  This is a family friendly event, so please come join us!

Tickets can be purchased HERE our site.

$20 for Adults // $10 for Children

We are honored to have been a beneficiary of the 13th Annual Chi Chi Miguel Weekend, which raised over $1 Million for eight Gulf Coast non-profit organizations! We want to give a huge thank you to the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, who organized this fun filled weekend, and who has been a supporter of Food For Thought Outreach for so many years. 

During the Chi Chi Miguel Throwdown Benefit Auction and BBQ, two of our students from the Emeril Lagasse Full Circle Kitchen, along with two students from Emeril's Culinary program at the Seaside School cooked and served their own culinary menu to attendees of the fundraiser.  It was great to see how these students are benefiting and learning from these culinary programs in our area, helped made possible by fundraisers like these.

Thank you again to all the winemakers, chefs, volunteers and sponsors that made this event possible; it truly was a fun day and an honor to be a part of!