Students at Northland Career Center (NCC) are making a meaningful impact beyond the classroom by helping address food insecurity in their own community.
Chef Brandi Moritz’s 36 Culinary Arts students partnered with
Kids Feeding Kids to prepare and distribute more than 600 free, family-sized meals of Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice. The meals were donated to families served by the Platte County School District and Northland Career Center.
Meals were advertised for drive-thru pick-up from 4:30-6:30pm on December 17 while supplies lasted. By 5pm, 500 meals had already been distributed, prompting students and staff to quickly prepare additional meal kits using extra food stock to meet the overwhelming community response.
The service-learning experience was made possible through a collaboration with Kansas City-based food recovery nonprofit
Pete’s Garden, which operates the Kids Feeding Kids program. Through the project, students gained hands-on, real-world experience planning, preparing, and packaging healthy meals while learning about food insecurity, nutrition, food safety, sustainability, and reducing food waste. Students also researched and selected a local donation partner focused on supporting families with children.
“Partnering with local organizations to support our community is a priority,” said
Dr. Chad Sayre, Director of Student Services for the Platte County School District. “The collaboration between Pete’s Garden and the Culinary Arts program at NCC is a powerful example of students using their skills to meet real needs. Chef Moritz and her students are truly making a difference with every meal served.”
Kids Feeding Kids provides educators with standards-aligned culinary and food justice lessons, along with the ingredients and supplies needed to prepare up to 1,000 meals per classroom. Now in its fourth year, the program has engaged more than 6,000 students across six states and helped distribute over 60,000 meals to families in need. The initiative is funded through grants from the WellSky Foundation and other generous donors.
Experiences like this reflect the District’s commitment to meaningful learning, strong community partnerships, and preparing students with the skills and compassion needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.
For more information about the Culinary Arts program at Northland Career Center, contact Brandi Moritz at
[email protected]. To learn more about Kids Feeding Kids, visit kidsfeedingkids.org.