The PB & J Fund

The PB & J Fund connects Charlottesville, Virginia youth with the resources and knowledge necessary to help develop a healthy diet. By working with community partners to provide healthy meals and teach cooking habits, it aims to address kids’ nutritional needs at each stage of development. For the last four years, the organization has partnered with schools, youth organizations, local agencies and volunteers in the community to provide healthy meals, cooking classes and demonstrations for kids and families.

While Charlottesville is considered wealthy by many standards, many area families live in poverty: in the Charlottesville City School system, rates of free and reduced lunch exceed the state average by roughly 16%, and last year, three schools had more than 70% of students who qualified for a free and reduced lunch. Many children rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition, but these meals aren’t offered during the holidays or outside of school hours. The PB & J Fund works to help fill in the gaps with nutritious food and education. By the numbers, here are some ways that they’ve made a difference in the past year alone:

51: Chef in Training cooking classes offered at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia.
5,000: Shelf-stable meals packed in over 300 bags for Charlottesville City Schools’ elementary school students on the Free and Reduced Lunch Program before their winter break.
2,262: Primo Plato healthy lunches provided to moms and their pre-school aged children living in Charlottesville housing communities through Children, Youth and Family Services Play Partners program.
8: Market to Meal Events at Charlottesville City schools. With 1,328: dinners provided at those events.
116: Volunteers leveraged to make it all happen, ranging from elementary students to culinary professionals.

Visit the PB & J Fund’s website to learn how this organization is connecting youth with community members and resources to empower them to develop a healthy diet.