January 12, 2021 Growing our Community Community has always been integral to achieving our mission of providing children with the nutrition they need to grow healthy bodies and minds. Through aligned partnerships and programs we have supported local, national and now global organizations that engage our team members to enrich our communities. Beginning this year, we are excited to expand our community through a partnership with Congo Kids Initiative in their work to provide a safe and caring home for orphaned children in Eastern Congo. Located in Bunia, Congo, CKI is an orphanage and school started 17 years ago by journalists to help children who have lost their parents and communities to conflict by providing much needed medical attention, nutrition, shelter, education, and love. Through this partnership, Gourmet Gorilla has donated an entire year’s worth of formula, ensuring that this critical piece of nutrition for the infants is provided. Our team will also be working alongside members of the CKI team, orphanage and school staff in sharing best practices regarding child nutrition, curriculum and school garden programs. We are excited not only to share our learnings from the work we do here in the states, and how some of it can be applied to CKI’s community, but also to learn much from the CKI family, and how their systems and knowledge can expand our thinking around food systems and nutrition in programs we serve in the US. November 4, 2020 Introducing the Pantry Box! In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gourmet Gorilla quickly began providing free, home delivered meals to the thousands of students it had been serving in schools throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, and Louisiana. Through the USDAs Summer Food Service Program, families can pick up meals curbside at schools, or sign up for home delivered free breakfasts and lunches. With the pandemic forcing schools to continue remote learning this fall and winter, and with increasing need for access to fresh, healthy food in many communities, Gourmet Gorilla introduced its pantry style food boxes that provide whole fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and milk. The boxes include locally sourced items as much as possible and are designed by dietitians to ensure they meet all the meal requirements of the program. Deliveries bring families a weekly supply of 7 days of breakfasts and lunches. Prior to the coronavirus, more than 22 million children relied on the National School Lunch Program, a federal program that provides free or reduced-price lunch to kids at more than 100,000 U.S. schools each school day. About 12.5 million also received free and reduced-price breakfast, according to the School Nutrition Association. In April, the United States saw a nearly 50-year record rise in food costs and so people are paying higher prices for their groceries during the pandemic. 1 in 6 people could be food insecure by the end of 2020, Feeding America predicts — up from 1 in 9 people in 2019. This includes 1 in 4 children. All of this is making things increasingly harder for people and families dealing with job and income losses to afford food. Our hope is that these boxes provide the nutrition that kids need, along with convenience and menu flexibility for families. Older Posts WHAT WE DO TRACE OUR MEALS INFO GORILLA CHRONICLES info@gourmetgorilla.com (877) 219-3663 1200 West Cermak Road, Chicago, IL 60608 X COVID-19 has not stopped us from making sure students have healthy meals. Contact us to learn how we are continuing to serve.