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Welcome Our New Staff
Jordan Cooper: Brilliant Beginnings Program Manager
As the new program manager for Brilliant Beginnings, I am thrilled to continue serving the youth of our community who need us most. I grew up in small, rural Kingsburg of the central valley, but have enjoyed living on the central coast for the past several years. I went to school at UC Santa Barbara and volunteered with local youth agencies prior to graduating with a B.A. in Sociology, I then attended California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo where I graduated with a M.A. in Educational Leadership and Administration. I gained experience in nonprofit work from my role as Interim Director at the Boys and Girls Clubs of South San Luis Obispo County. I am excited to now be a part of the Food Bank team being responsible for piloting our new breakfast in the classroom program, Brilliant Beginnings, in hopes of assuring that every child receives a breakfast at the beginning of their school day.
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Program updates
GleanSLO will be hosting its second annual Fruit Drive in San Luis Obispo on Saturday, March 8th from 9am-1pm. Drop off picked fruit at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 2201 Laughton Ave, in SLO, across from Meadow Park. Or visit our website to register your fruit trees to be picked by trained volunteers. Together we can collect thousands of pounds of ripe fruit and deliver it to a hungry home.
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Brilliant Beginnings is preparing to roll out our new breakfast pilot program to schools scattered though the county at the beginning of the 2014/2015 school year. Our intention is to help provide all enrolled students with a free healthy breakfast to start their day. This program will provide a training to key staff as well as the needed kitchen equipment to aid the transition from a traditional cafeteria-style breakfast to the breakfast in the classroom model. Schools who adopt the alternative meal service have seen participation rates as high as 97%, with benefits ranging from increased test scores, decreased absences, fewer trips to the nurses office, as well as a reduction in obesity rates.
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