Lantana resident awarded grant for charity effort

A Lantana resident was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from Jersey Mike’s Subs in recognition of her efforts to help feed hungry kids.

Lara Lopez, of Lantana, was awarded one of five Sub Abover grants from the sandwich chain for her Kids Kupboard Ministry, according to a news release. Her brother-in-law, Dan Lopez, nominated her for the grant, writing that Lara “and her team of neighborhood kids put together weekend food packages for nearly 200 local elementary students weekly. These 200 students are receiving free and reduced breakfast and lunch each day at school. For many of those students, those are their only meals each day. But what happens on the weekends? This is where Kids Kupboard come in.”

It started in 2011 as a project to provide 25 bags of non-perishable food items to students at one elementary school to take home for the weekend, and it has expanded to 122 bags per week at four schools.

“When my husband and I moved to town, we went to the local elementary school to see if we could get involved,” Lara Lopez said. “We had heard of people doing similar things, helping feed kids. We also wanted to teach our kids to give back and realize not everyone has the same blessings we do.”

Lopez said part of their mission is “kids feeding kids,” and each Tuesday, Lara, her four daughters and “neighborhood kids from toddlers to teens” come over to help pack bags.

Lopez said the grant from Jersey Mike’s will go to buy more food, and will cover nearly a year’s worth.

“We don’t have to worry about running out of food.”

Jersey Mike’s received 2,600 nominations for the Sub Abover grants, which are presented to those making a difference in their local communities.

The other four Sub Abover grants went to Mariah Smith, Blankets for the Homeless, Virginia Beach, Virginua.; Rody Thompson, PeaceJam Southeast Director, Center for Leadership and Social Change at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.; Jeff VanAutreve, Second Story Teen Center, Princeton, Illinois; and Jim and Terri Wasley, Meg’s Smile Foundation, Holly Springs, North Carolina.