North County Program Provides Boxes of Healthy Foods for Students & Their Families via the School System

by | Campaigns

+BOX (PlusBox) – a program designed to fight food insecurity by working alongside school districts to provide boxes filled with healthy and nutrient-rich foods for students and their families – signs on a new school in Vista, Calif. Each +BOX includes enough food for four servings and is provided weekly.

+BOX is currently working with three schools and one school district to provide 500 boxes weekly. Schools include Jefferson Elementary School in Carlsbad, Vista Unified School District), Ocean Knoll Elementary in Encinitas, and now, Bella Mente Academy in Vista, a public charter school.

Over the last year, +BOX has made an impact in North County San Diego, as noted in their 2021 Annual Report, including:

  • Distributing 19,275 boxes, including 78,450 servings and over 230,000 pounds of healthy food to food insecure students and their families.
  • Serving an average of 393 households per week across three North County communities.
  • Supporting 137 separate food distributions over 49 weeks in 2021.

“Social imbalances are more acute than ever, and there are many who need help to provide for themselves and their families, to have enough food, and to access other essential resources,” said Wesley Burt, executive director, and founder of Equation Collaborative, the 501(c)3 nonprofit that manages and operates +BOX, and one of the program’s original creators.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five people in San Diego County were food insecure. Now, one in three San Diegans experience food insecurity, which means they are unable to provide three nutritious meals per day for themselves or their families. Almost 40% of children in San Diego are food insecure.

+BOX’s warehouse and distribution center is in Carlsbad. They are always looking for volunteers to participate in their Pack Outs – Monday through Thursday at 4:00 p.m. – where they assemble and pack-up boxes with healthy and nutritious ingredients for food insecure students and their families. For details, visit www.plus-box.org/volunteer.

+BOX is a 501c3 charity that relies on the generosity of its supporters. Donors are welcome to make a tax-deductible donation via www.plus-box.org/give-a-box. For more information, visit www.plus-box.org.