Sunshine Place’s Food for Kids Programs make Back to School easier for Families 

With summer winding down and families getting ready for back to school, Sunshine Place is preparing too, as our summer lunch program makes way for our school-year Food for Kids programs. Did you know that Food for Kids currently partners with Sun Prairie Community schools to provide a system of food support for students in food insecure households throughout the school year? We do this through:

• School Markets/Pantries

• Fun Fridays

• Break Bags

• Northside Weekend Bags

• Hotel Boxes

Each of these provides food support to the children who need it most, whether during the school week or on a school break. Let’s break these down: 

From there, Community Site Coordinators monitor food distribution to students, which can look different depending on what works best for their student population. 

Fun Fridays

Every Friday after school, Sunshine Place’s food delivery van stops by 4 different Sun Prairie neighborhoods to deliver hearty snack bags to children who need them. This typically includes a peanut butter sandwich, juice, fruit, something sweet, and something salty. The neighborhoods where these are delivered were chosen based on the high concentration of children living in these areas who are enrolled in free/reduced lunch at their school. The van has a pre-determined place it stops and sets up to distribute food. Sunshine Place and Community School site staff work together to hand out food to children, and are able to become familiar with many of the children and their families in this way. This creates an additional touchpoint for school staff especially, who may see some of these same children in their own schools. 

Break Bags

“Break bags” refer to bags of food given to children to take home over major

school breaks, including Thanksgiving break, Winter break, and Spring break. These are meant to cover breakfast and lunch for up to 5 days, and are offered throughout the Sun Prairie School District. Not only do these ensure that students have a reliable source of food over break, these have proven to be an opportunity for Community Site Coordinators to connect with families who may not be benefitting from other assistance.

Though many families need support, they may not always realize that they can reach out. Once that initial touchpoint is made, Community Site Coordinators can refer families to additional resources if needed.

Northside Weekend Bags

Weekend food bags are unique to Northside Elementary School to fill a gap not met by Fun Fridays. Because the boundaries made to determine who attends Northside are very spread out, it is difficult to target high-need neighborhoods with students from this school. Instead, weekend bags, which are filled to provide breakfast and lunch for 2 days, are sent home with Northside children who may most benefit from extra food support for the weekend. 

Hotel Boxes

These are boxes curated to provide for students and their families who are unhoused and living in a hotel.  When the need arises, school social workers from any school in the Sun Prairie district can reach out to Sunshine Place’s Food Security Programs Coordinator, who prepares a box of food meant to be easy to prepare using hotel amenities (e.g. microwavable). Boxes are delivered directly to families by the school social workers. Like many Food for Kids supports, this gives school social workers the chance to engage with families who may not be open to it otherwise. Social workers can build a genuine rapport by delivering food to a family in their time of need, which makes it easier to connect in the future. 

Looking Ahead

Throughout the school year, Sun Prairie students and their families depend on Food for Kids as a reliable source of nutritious food, and this program is crucial. A fed child is more capable of focusing and doing well in school, learning through social interactions to form relationships, and controlling their emotions without resorting to disruptive behaviors. Ideally, the hope is to continue to expand some of this programming to new schools as the Community Schools program expands. However, as demand for Sunshine Place programs like Food for Kids continues to increase while some existing supports are being withdrawn, we need your support now more than ever to simply maintain the programs we have now. 

How You can Help

Food for Kids programs are able to support local children and their families thanks to generous community members like you! 

Stay tuned to our newsletter and website for information on becoming a sponsor for our Fun Friday bags! Pull together your best friend group or family members and make a difference for your youngest neighbors in need.

Click below to donate, and make sure to write “Food for Kids" in the notes section when you make your donation. 

Program Story Spotlight: Fun Fridays

"The healthier snacks and foods I've been able to get on Fridays have been wonderful. They really help extend our food supply and ensure that we're eating more nutritious meals. It's made a real difference in our family's well-being, and I'm grateful for that. I honestly don't know what we would do without the support of Sunshine Place and the resources they provide. It's been a lifeline for me and my kids, and I'm so thankful for all they've done to help us through some tough times."

- A parent whose children are Fun Friday recipients

Are you a Sunshine Place client or volunteer with a story to share? Send your stories to socialmedia@sunshineplace.org or, fill out our online story form. All stories stay anonymous unless otherwise requested by a client.

Stuff the Bus: Then & Now

FIRST YEAR OF STUFF THE BUS: 2009

How it Started...

Before it became one of Sunshine Place’s 11 programs, Stuff the Bus was an idea formed back in 2009, when Larry “Smokey” Anderson’s local American Family Insurance agency was looking for ways to give back to the community. When children have the same supplies as their peers at the start of the school year, they can better focus on engaging and learning. Basic school supplies are essential, but they cost. Once this was identified as a community need, Stuff the Bus was born. Smokey’s initial collaborators for Stuff the Bus included Deb Krebs, VP of Community & Strategic Partnerships at Bank of Sun Prairie, and Janelle Vreugdenhil, the Community Social Worker with Joining Forces for Families, which is located on the Sunshine Place campus. Sunshine Place joined Stuff the Bus as the fiscal agent, raising funds and in-kind donations, and staff joined in on event organizing this year. To this day, all of these initial collaborators continue to be key organizers, with American Family and Bank of Sun Prairie maintaining annual founding sponsorships.

The first year, organizers pulled in contacts from the school district for

guidance on what was most needed and for effective distribution. Local churches were used as collection points for supplies. Kobussen Bus company was brought on board to drive around Sun Prairie and advertise Stuff the Bus, and was filled with all of the supplies collected during a two-day community event to literally stuff the bus. Students who needed supplies were invited with their caretakers to “shop” for what they needed at a local school, where all of the backpacks and other supplies were laid out. That first year, 545 local children were provided with school supplies to start the school year prepared to learn. Organizers switched to handing out backpacks that were pre-stuffed with supplies after that first year and for 10 years, this system worked. Then Covid hit.

Covid meant pivoting from the original model to something that would be safer for those distributing and receiving supplies. A drive-through model was implemented at select local schools, and backpacks stuffed with supplies were handed out to families as they came through in their cars. Once Covid restrictions were lifted, organizers made the decision to keep the drive-through system. It was found to be an easier way for families to pick up needed supplies, while providing an additional communication touchpoint between the school staff and the families at distribution. While versions of the Stuff the Bus program can now be found across Wisconsin, Stuff the Bus founders believe theirs was one of the first of its kind, which after 16 years, is still going strong.

Present Day Stuff the Bus: 2025

How it's Going...

Like many Sunshine Place programs, the need for Stuff the Bus continues to grow. This year’s Stuff the Bus provided 2,000 children with the supplies they need for school, which is more than 3.5 times the number served the first year. The process has evolved in some ways, but what works remains the same. Distribution information goes out through Sun Prairie schools to all students receiving free and reduced lunch, and through other targeted outreach by school staff, ensuring that families most in need are aware of this resource. Distribution this year occurred over two days at four different locations, with morning and evening times available each day. This expanded distribution makes pick-up less crowded by spreading it out, and gives caretakers various options to work with for their schedules. 

School district staff continue to be involved in the distribution and planning process, including giving feedback on how backpacks are used and whether supply needs change over time. The original Stuff the Bus organizers unanimously agree that seeing both children and school staff light up when they recognize each other continues to be one of their favorite parts of distributing supplies. Like so many Sunshine Place programs, these little moments of connection and support matter beyond just providing school supplies. Each child who comes through for supplies and is greeted by school staff goes into the school year not only with the materials to help prepare them, but with the mental preparation that comes from knowing that a staff member from their school was out there before school even started, doing something to support them. 

This year's Stuff the Bus is over, but we are already looking to next year!

• Learn more about Stuff the Bus & how you can help.
• Donate to next year’s Stuff the Bus fund.
• You still have a couple days to participate in our Summer Kid’s Challenge to support Stuff the Bus and have the chance to win fun prizes! Click to learn more. 

One final shout-out to this year's Stuff the Bus sponsors: Madison4Kids, Sun Prairie Education Foundation, Sun Prairie Rotarians, and our founding sponsors, Bank of Sun Prairie, and Larry (Smokey) Anderson - American Family Insurance Agent. We couldn't do this without you!

THANK YOU to all supporters and attendees who made our 2025 Infopalooza a success!

A HUGE thank you to all of our clients and community members who attended this year's annual Infopalooza. We had over 500 families attend, which is especially amazing considering the last-minute venue change! 

Our incredible sponsors, supporters, and volunteers allowed us to host this event so that, for FREE, attendees could enjoy: games, dancing to a live DJ, art activities, raffle prizes, family photos, yummy food and treats, our second Good Neighbors Market with TONS of fresh produce, and so many incredible community resources. A special thank you to the 65 volunteers who gave their time and energy, to One Community Bank for their sponsorship, and to Sun Prairie Community Schools for their partnership and the event space. We are so grateful to be part of such a strong and supportive community of people.

Click here to see more photos in our Infopalooza photo gallery, provided by our amazing volunteer photographer John Kalson.

C.A.R.D.S. Closet Donation Bin OPEN to Fall/Winter Gear starting August 13th

C.A.R.D.S. Closet operates under the belief that every child deserves clean, seasonally appropriate clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident. C.A.R.D.S. Closet is a free clothing resource for Sun Prairie and Marshall school district families. Families in the Sun Prairie or Marshall school district can contact their school social worker for a referral, then can select clothing in a private and compassionate 30-minute appointment. If you have any new or gently used fall/winter gear that a child would wear, we would love to have it starting August 13th! The donation bin is located at 1632 W Main St. in Sun Prairie, and is open Monday through Friday, 8 AM – 4 PM.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

We are so grateful to the groups, businesses, and individuals who have recently volunteered, donated, and organized drives or events to support our mission. Sunshine Place programs are possible thanks to our community’s generosity and commitment to helping one another.

Below are just a few photo highlights showcasing recent support. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see more stories of impact and kindness.

A record number of families and individuals are turning to us for help with food, housing, and other essential needs. Your support ensures our neighbors can find hope and help at Sunshine Place when they need it most. Thank you!