LUDINGTON — What started as a simple idea in a Facebook comment has turned into a community-wide effort resulting in 270 complete dinner meal kits for families in need—along with over 461 additional donated food items for the Lakeshore Food Club.
About two weeks ago, West Shore Educational School District teacher Rachel Cohoon commented on a Facebook post featuring “Dollar Tree Dinner” meal kits and wondered if her students could assemble similar kits in response to the temporary pause in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Jen Rowe, LHS family & consumer sciences teacher, saw the comment and reached out. That sparked a collaboration between the WSESD Horizons program and students in LHS Food Science and personal finance classes.
Rowe’s foods students had recently been studying grocery budgeting and creating balanced meals, and personal finance students were wrapping up coursework focused on generosity—making the project a meaningful real-world application. Cohoon’s Horizons students like to get out into the community and do hands-on work whenever they can. The project also provided a unique opportunity for collaboration across classrooms, buildings, and districts as students worked together toward a shared community impact.
Donations were gathered from every Ludington Area School District school building with support from the Ludington Elementary School Service Club, led by Sara Roesler, the OJ DeYoung Middle School Student Council, led by Teresa Eriksen, and WSESD programs. Community partners quickly joined in: Safe Harbor Credit Union volunteered to serve as a drop-off location, and House of Flavors, Inc. conducted an internal food drive to support the effort.
What’s in the Meal Kits
Each meal kit includes a printed recipe card along with all shelf-stable food ingredients needed to prepare the meal at home, making the kits easy to distribute, store, and cook without requiring refrigeration. Students prepared three different meals:
- Creamy chicken and dumplings
- Cheesy taco soup
- Beef and bean chili
- Each kit provides a full dinner option that is nutritionally balanced, easy to prepare, and family-friendly.
Donations were collected by Nov. 17, and students assembled the meal kits on Nov. 18. Prior to the assembly day, student groups cataloged and organized donations—work that continued throughout the packaging process. Recent renovations at LHS, including new tables and expanded workspace, made large-group assembly easier.
Throughout the day, students from both LHS and WSESD worked side-by-side to pack the meals. WSESD students traveled to the grocery store to purchase more items for the kits, using money donated by generous community members. One LHS student group also traveled to Ludington Elementary School to write personal notes for the meal kits alongside LES Service Club members.
Distribution of the meals will prioritize LASD and WSESD families, with any remaining kits placed in local Cares Boxes and provided to those in need at the upcoming Community Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by Radiant Church.
“What’s amazing is that one comment on Facebook turned into 270 meal kits created by over 100 local students—thanks to hundreds of community members who contributed canned goods and support. Families will be able to enjoy a great meal together because of these efforts,” organizers said.
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