Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County tackles summer hunger

Students prepare and deliver meal kits to peers this summer

For Hometown News Newsml@hometownnewsmediagroup.com Oct 7, 2025

INDIANTOWN – This summer, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County launched an innovative model to help fight childhood hunger in Indiantown, serving approximately 211,000 meals to children.

Throughout the summer, families could pick up free weekly meal kits every Friday for their kids, each containing seven breakfasts and seven lunches.

This marked the first year Indiantown qualified as a rural community under federal guidelines, opening the door for flexible summer meal options like this one.

What made this program especially unique was its student involvement. Through the Clubs’ student culinary training program, youth members prepared, packed, and helped distribute the meal kits—gaining hands-on experience while supporting their own community.

“We are so excited to have successfully launched this program with our summer activities this year,” said Keith “Fletch” Fletcher, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County. “These students gained invaluable life skills through this program, including culinary training and empathy for others. They were able to help their peers who might be experiencing a more difficult time this summer.”

The grab-and-go model was offered as a convenient solution for families in rural communities who often experience additional challenges such as transportation when accessing summer meal sites.

“Indiantown is a region that immensely benefited from these noncongregate flexibilities,” said Sky Beard, director of No Kid Hungry Florida. “Many families, especially those in rural communities, experience additional hardship over the summer. We are grateful to support the remarkable work the Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County accomplished. It was exciting to be a part of such an impactful program that made a real difference in the community.”

Families in Indiantown could drive through and pick up free grab-and-go meal kits every week at Big Mound Park. Each kit was delivered using a refrigerated truck to keep the breakfast and lunch food safe and fresh.

Funding from No Kid Hungry Florida supported the development of this summer meal model. These expanded services are part of Florida’s Summer BreakSpot program, administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

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