Franklin County golf outing helps children facing food insecurity

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Franklin County nonprofit is helping children in need of a boost get the nutrition they need.

That's the purpose of the Family Mentor Foundation's "Buddy Boxes Program." Each "buddy box" is filled with healthy foods that children can prepare and eat on their own. Students take the boxes home over the weekend -- a time when they don't have access to the breakfast and lunch they got at school.

On Monday, the foundation held its second annual "Birdies for Buddies Boxes." It's a benefit golf outing where all proceeds go toward children facing food insecurity.

One entry into the golf outing, which is $185, provides one child with weekend meals for a full year. The foundation partners with 33 Franklin County schools, working to provide meals to hundreds of thousands of children.

"We serve approximately 1,500 kids every single weekend throughout the school year," said Meegan Jesuele, executive director of the Family Mentor Foundation. "The school year just kicked off, we have a lot of hungry kids to feed."

The foundation handed out over 50,000 boxes in 2023, which equals about 200,000 meals.