11/12/2025
Just when it feels like we’ve reached a sweet spot in our partnerships and fight against food insecurity, another light shines—bringing us together once again. Over the past several months, our local food pantries have joined forces with Team OC and Safe Haven through food drives at Walmart and new collaborations, all focused on improving food access across Orange County. Together we collected cereal for back to school, cans of vegetables this past weekend for Thanksgiving and then Dec 6th we will be collecting cans of fruit for Christmas.
In 2024, the Teen Chef program was launched thanks to generous donors and community support. What began with just 20 students last year has now grown to more than 70 participants this year. As Liberty Garden in Orleans continues its transformation, much of the food used in the Teen Chef program will soon be grown there—by 2026, it will become a central source of fresh ingredients for our families.
Time and again, we’ve witnessed kids helping kids, families supporting families, and intergenerational partnerships growing stronger. And now, thanks to an idea from Kacie Shipman, youth social worker for Springs Valley Community Schools, along with Amanda Dalton, Rachel Robinson, and Katie Cook from Paoli High School, and Kate Jones from Orleans High School, we have formed yet another powerful partnership—one that ensures no child in our high schools will ever go hungry.
Kacie’s vision began with a simple goal: to create meal bags that students could take home, complete with easy-to-follow recipes. Within just 48 hours—and with the collaboration from the Lilly Scholars Network—that idea has became reality. This Sunday, Team OC will pick up the first 400 meal kits that will be distributed to each of our high schools in Orange Cointy. Each of our local food pantries in Orleans, Paoli, and Springs Valley will adopt one of the high schools, partnering with local churches to keep supplies stocked throughout the remainder of the year and keep our youth focused on moving forward.
Looking ahead, during our 2026 Girls and Boys Empowerment Event, hosted by Team OC, we will assemble 1,000 plus additional meal kits to continue this effort through the rest of the school year.
After meeting with all three food pantries and presenting Kacie’s idea, the response was a resounding “yes.” Together—with schools, Teen Chefs students, food pantries, and the Lilly Scholars Network—we’re proving once again what it means to be Better Together.
