‍

The Wilbur May Foundation Healthy Mornings Program continues to help at-risk children thrive at Project Angel Food and is made possible through a $60,000 grant from the Wilbur May Foundation gifted in September of 2020. Through the program, Project Angel Food prepares and delivers healthy breakfasts to the children of health-compromised clients receiving Project Angel Food’s life-saving meals. This helps those children combat the negative physical and psychological effects of food insecurity.

The Wilbur May Foundation Healthy Mornings Program provides funding for nutritious breakfasts, seven days a week, delivered directly to children’s homes. Breakfasts include homemade granola, oatmeal, cereal, cheese sticks, raisins, and milk to their children. The program has grown more that 20%, feeding over one hundred children with daily breakfasts because of the support of the Wilbur May Foundation.

Project Angel Food thinks holistically when considering the health outcomes and wellbeing of our critically ill clients. The Wilbur May Foundation Healthy Mornings initiative relieves stress and food insecurity for families with critically ill parents or guardians. It also improves the ability of children in these families to successfully navigate their challenging circumstances.

Research shows that food insecurity can have devastating effects on the health and development of children, including increased hospitalizations, poor health, iron deficiency, developmental risk, and behavior problems, including aggression, anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorder. In addition to impacting the children, this puts a major financial, physical, and psychological strain on our critically ill clients who are parents or guardians and are struggling to keep their families fed.

Vanessa is one of the 2,500 critically ill Los Angeles residents Project Angel Food serves each day with Medically Tailored Meals. A Latina in her forties, Vanessa is a diabetic, suffers from kidney failure, is on dialysis three days each week, and is also the mother of three.  Even in this compromised health condition, she says her children come first. She says, “I am so grateful because of this program my children are fed, and I can focus on my own health with the help of Project Angel Food.”