A Transformational Opportunity for Our local Children

Announcing an historic partnership with Food For Our Children, Kinderhaven Foundation and the Lake Pend Oreille School District to provide affordable school meals for students from the lowest 50% of household incomes in the LPOSD.

Kinderhaven Foundation has awarded Food For Our Children a two year grant of $186,000 per year to pay for school meals for students from low income households for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years, totaling $372,000

Food For Our Children has committed to matching Kinderhaven Foundation’s incredibly compassionate grant dollar for dollar though their own resources and by reaching out to the community. Combined with the Kinderhaven Foundation grant, the amount for the entire two years is a grand total of $744,000.

Why is there a need for this?

It is the challenge of living in a resort community. The federal calculation for free and reduced price school breakfasts and lunches leaves hundreds of our children from families of limited means unable to enjoy nourishing meals while at school. Why is this? The cost of living here is unique, due to our housing costs. Bonner County ranks 25th in the state in household income but 4th in the state in housing costs. The average two bedroom rental unit in our county is now over $16,000 per year. A single parent median income  here is slightly over $31,000 gross, or about $26,000 net after taxes. That’s means rent is about 60% of that parent’s take home pay. Then you add food, medicine and health care costs, car payments, and utilities.  The numbers just don’t work. Even if that parent were able to find a rental for only $12,000 per year, that is still 46% of their take home pay, far over federal guidelines. And this is for the medium income. Half of our households make less than the medium.  If this parent had two children in elementary school, the cost for school breakfasts and lunches each week would be over $58 per week. This is why hundreds of kids in our school district fall through the cracks, unable to pay for school meals.