Fueling Potential: How Summer Meals Support Youth at the Boys & Girls Club

At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee’s Andrew Jackson Clubhouse, every day is filled with opportunities for youth to learn, grow, and connect. And thanks to Sweet Peas Summer Eats for Kids—sponsored by Jackson National Life Insurance Company® (Jackson®)—those days are also fueled by healthy, made-from-scratch meals from The Nashville Food Project.

We handle the food so BGCMT can stay focused on its mission: to help all young people—especially those who need us most—reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

“When school is out, many children and teens lose access to regular meals,” says Denise Carothers with BGCMT. “The Nashville Food Project’s summer meals ensure that youth have access to healthy food even when school is out. These meals do more than fill plates—they strengthen support systems, create safe spaces, and help children and teens thrive.”

Each week this summer, the Andrew Jackson Clubhouse receives hundreds of meals packed with local produce and kid-friendly favorites like veggie pasta and chicken tacos. And they’re just one of many partners receiving meals through Sweet Peas this summer. With Jackson’s incredible support—now in its sixth consecutive year—we’ll serve more than 100,000 meals this summer to children across the city.

This partnership is part of our Community Meals program, which provides nutritious, made-from-scratch meals to organizations already gathering people in meaningful ways. Our meals help reduce barriers to food access by showing up where people already are—programs like BGCMT that offer stability, community, and a sense of belonging.

This work is only possible because of corporate partners like Jackson, who share our belief that good food is a powerful way to build stronger, healthier communities—one meal at a time.

Sweet Peas 2020 with Gratitude for Good Neighbors

Like so many of us in 2020, Sarah McCormick, Senior Director of Operations & Impact at one of our partner organizations Project Transformation, has had a challenging year. And yet, she also has had the opportunity to see folks, as she beautifully puts it, “rediscover what it means to be a neighbor.” 

As planning began for Project Transformation’s summer camps for children, she and her colleagues knew would need to look different in the time of COVID-19. Through that planning, they heard two overwhelming needs from parents: Something for the kids to do and something for them to eat. 

Meanwhile, they also knew they wanted to stay committed to their core goals of literary development and social-emotional development—even at safe distances. Volunteers and partners jumped in with open hearts and minds to make necessary shifts launching grab-and-go locations for meals and “summer camp in a bag,” which included a new book each week for building young home libraries as well as activities for inside and outdoors. 

As for nutritious meals and snacks, we’re proud to partner with Project Transformation at three of their sites this summer. We know one in six children do not have access to the food they want and need. Lack of access can be even greater during the summer with the absence of school meals. Given this alarming information we launched a program last year called Sweet Peas: summer eats for kids. Now in its second year—amidst the current crisis—we know the need for nourishing meals is even greater. 

Nashville Food Project meals ready for pick-up at a Project Transformation site.

We also understand, though, that food can’t solve all inequities and that’s why we love to work in community with partners like Project Transformation. As author Francis Moore Lappe says: “People go hungry not from a lack of food but from a lack of power...with a wider lens we can see that hunger is not caused by scarcity of food but scarcity of democracy.” Literacy is power. Emotional intelligence is power. We believe the work of partners like Project Transformation helps break down inequitable systems. And by providing meals alongside their work, we’re building stronger communities together.

McCormick says research shows that children in communities experiencing marginalization often lack access to tools and enrichment activities over the summer especially. “We want to make sure kids aren’t regressing,” she says. “For us there’s a wider gap potentially (during pandemic) because kids are out of school longer. It’s even more important to get books into the homes and let them know they are supported.”

Just as Project Transformation worked through COVID-19 challenges with the help of supporters, likewise, our Sweet Peas program got a big leg up from this year’s sponsor, Jackson National Life Insurance Company. Our volunteer program has been suspended since March leaving the kitchen staff with 380 fewer sets of hands to help prepare meals each month. Yet we still needed to increase summer output and share about 12,500 meals with kids. So in addition to helping fund the program, Jackson rolled up their sleeves to help cook. 

With the Jackson offices mostly closed to staff, Jackson converted their dining services facility into a satellite kitchen preparing nearly 4,500 nutritious meals for Sweet Peas. The Jackson dining services team stayed busy while helping us expand our reach to partners. Over an eight week period, the Jackson team served 140 kids, four days a week to two Project Transformation summer camps. 

Meal prep at Jackson’s headquarters for Project Transformation sites.

“It feels good obviously,” says Wess Victory, Food Services Director at Jackson. “I think it’s helped morale around here to know we’re doing some good.” 

While Victory and team offer healthy options for Jackson employees on a regular basis, they worked even harder to pack summer lunches for kids with vegetables and whole grains. But when neighbors work together, we like to believe lunches come packed with power for a better future too. 

Jackson’s kitchen serving as a satellite kitchen for The Nashville Food Project.

Jackson meals headed for Project Transformation sites.