Making Sure Kids Get Supper at Your Afterschool Program
We deliver hot, ready-to-eat, great-tasting, CACFP-compliant dinners and snacks to your kids, allowing you to concentrate on the difficult task of running your afterschool program.
Taking Out Food from the List of Challenges Faced by Afterschool Programs
There are not enough afterschool programs in Massachusetts (or in the US for that matter). Many parents, particularly lower-income parents, wish their kid could go to an afterschool program, yet cannot find any or cannot afford those they find. Only 1 in 3 families that would like their kid to join an afterschool program succeeds at finding one. The deficit is even greater for low-income households. As a result, many kids are left drifting on their own through long afternoons, raising safety issues.
Running an afterschool program is a stressful job. It requires finding teachers willing to work for low wages, meeting demanding regulatory standards, dealing with occasionally difficult parents and kids, and trying to survive financially. The last thing afterschool programs need is to add a struggle to find a foodservice vendor providing suppers for their kids.
And yet finding a reliable vendor for afterschool programs is not easy. Because most afterschool programs are relatively small and require the meals to be hot when delivered, most foodservice vendors refuse to serve afterschool programs.
Not so Stock Pot Malden! We do have a minimum of 20 kids to serve you, but we LOVE afterschool programs, first because we support their social mission, but also because our network of smaller, local kitchens is uniquely configured to serve smaller clients such as afterschool programs.
The meal served at the afterschool program is often the only chance a kid will have to get dinner. Together, let’s make sure we feed those kids.
The Smile of a Kid Arriving at the Afterschool Program
Kids come from all directions in different buses or vans. They arrive at different times, sometimes spaced out in time for as long as one-and-a-half hour. They step out of the vehicle and already look forward to seeing their friend again.
They step into the classroom and are handed out a meal. It has often been a long time since they last ate: some school lunches can be offered as early as 10:30 am, so they are quite ravenous by 2:30 or 3 pm. Supper cannot come too early.
It may well be the only supper they will receive – sometimes even the only meal of the day. If the meal is attractive, a big smile comes upon their face. They rip the plastic cover and eagerly start eating. Later on, they will pay close attention to the teacher and focus on their activity, unaware of the role that food plays in their ability to learn.
It's OK. As a modest foodservice vendor, we don’t have to be heroes. The kids will hardly know we’re there, but we’ll contribute to their education nonetheless, silently partnering with you through your afterschool program.
We Help You Figure Out Whether You Are Eligible for CACFP Reimbursement
The rules of meal reimbursement from the USDA and their local representative DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) can be quite arcane. Our role is to help you sort out whether the meals you contemplate serving in your program can be reimbursed, and if you are eligible, to help you become what is known as “a sponsor”. “Sponsorship” means you become the manager of your own program and are accountable to the government for meeting all their rules.
There are basically three criteria:
Your afterschool program must be in a school attendance area where at least 50% of children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. This list is regularly published by DESE, so you either are on that list or not.
Your afterschool program must offer regularly scheduled educational or enrichment activities. This is typically easy to meet since most afterschool programs are built around an educational focus (e.g., math, art, exploration, etc.)
Your afterschool program needs proper licensing and health permits and must meet state/local codes. Most afterschool programs meet those requirements just to exist, and we can help you obtain the necessary documentation if needed.
How We Raise the Number of Kids Receiving Supper: The Basic Equation
At Stock Pot Malden, we want to maximize the number of Massachusetts school-age kids who receive supper.
While only a modest foodservice vendor in the much larger ecosystem of afterschool programs, we think we can influence three variables in that equation:
Number of Massachusetts school-age kids receiving supper
Total number of Massachusetts school-age kids
Proportion of kids attending afterschool programs
Proportion of afterschool programs that serve suppers
Proportion of kids who eat the meals offered by the afterschool program
Building Afterschool Programs from Day One
We support the creation of new afterschool programs by helping afterschool entrepreneurs set up their foodservice program even before opening.
Today, only 1 out of 20 kids who receive a free lunch program have access to a free supper.
Unlock Access to CACFP Funding
We help existing afterschool centers apply for sponsorship with the CACFP program.
Better Meals. Better Attendance.
We increase the participation of afterschool kids through the quality of our meals.
Cultural Appropriateness of our Meals
Many afterschool programs are fairly narrowly focused on neighborhoods, ethnic background, and/or languages.
This creates an opportunity to design menus that are uniquely suited to the demographics of each afterschool program.
While this cannot be done to infinity, Stock Pot Malden is known for its own immigrant culture and its ability to design customized menus for specific programs, including afterschool programs.
This is made possible by our reliance on smaller, local kitchens, often run in partnership with local partners embedded in the community of the afterschool programs we serve.
Real Meals. Real Nutrition.
We Offer Free Educational Sessions on Food for Kids
Some afterschool programs have asked us to design, deliver and staff brief educational sessions on the topic of food. These are one-off sessions embedded inside the normal curriculum of the school and are offered as part of our normal vending relationship with you. We are happy to partner with you on designing and delivering some suitable “Food for Kids” modules on topics such as:
Learning to cook a very simple dish
Understanding where food comes from (“a day in the life of a potato”)
Foods from the world
And any food topic of interest to you.
Meet Your Support Team
Carlos Cuilty
Customer Service Manager
[email protected]
Grisnelys Peña
Customer Service Representative
[email protected]
Have Questions? We’ve Got Answers.
From CACFP-compliance and pricing to delivery, menus, and daily support, this FAQ covers the most common questions sponsors of afterschool programs ask when considering Stock Pot Malden as their meal partner.
Nutrition You Can Trust
We use the Health-e Pro App to ensure that every meal meets all federal and state nutritional standards—so you always receive accurate portion sizes, calorie counts, and nutrient balances.
We send your center a detailed daily menu that includes:
- A full breakdown of ingredients for each meal
- A complete list of any allergens present
We also provide centers with sample documentation, including:
- Nutritional analysis reports
- Production records
These documents help your center remain fully compliant with CACFP guidelines.
Getting to Know Your After School Program
We would love to partner with you in developing your on-site program. Fill out the form below to learn more about how Stock Pot Malden can make mealtime easier and healthier for your community.
