On a warm Tuesday in late July, a blue van marked with a Transylvania County Schools logo pulled into a gravel driveway and let out a light honk. Seconds later, the door of a house swung open. Two children bounded down the steps and into the arms of the van鈥檚 passengers 鈥� school nutrition employees the students know well because during the school year, they work in their school鈥檚 cafeteria.

The employees greeted the children and their parents, reached into the back of the van, and pulled out food from an insulated container. Prepared earlier that morning in the school cafeteria, lunch that day was tacos made with local .

鈥淚t鈥檚 taco Tuesday!鈥� one of the children announced.

Each child took a bag containing a hot lunch and a breakfast for the next day. The school nutrition employees said a quick goodbye before buckling back in the van and heading to their next stop. 鈥淪ee you tomorrow!鈥� they called out.

This scene unfolds Monday through Thursday, every week of summer break, rain or shine or heat wave, as Transylvania County Schools nutrition staff drive three routes across the rural, mountainous county to deliver free summer meals directly to more than 200children.

And while it is the district鈥檚 third year delivering summer meals, that approach is still rare statewide, with just five sponsors offering it. It鈥檚 also rare for programs to offer daily hot meals, with many instead providing boxes with multiple days worth of shelf-stable or frozen items.

Janette Broda, director of school nutrition in , said the motivation behind the district鈥檚 summer meals program is to meet families where they are, keep staff employed during the summer months, and offer high-quality meals to children who need it the most. And while it鈥檚 more expensive to provide fresh food, she is committed to providing children with the best quality nutrition possible.

鈥淚f we鈥檙e feeding children, don鈥檛 we want to give them fruits and vegetables? Isn鈥檛 that what the program is about?鈥� she said. 鈥淢y guiding light is: Would I serve this food to my own children who are 9 and 11? And if the answer is no, why would I serve it to these children just because it might be cheaper?鈥�

Transylvania County鈥檚 summer meals program has not only become a model in the state 鈥� it鈥檚 also informing national best practices. In January, Broda joined staff from the (CHI) in Washington, D.C. for . There, she spoke on a panel about innovative strategies used to reach children in 鈥渦ltra-rural鈥� communities.

鈥淪he (Broda) is serving a hot meal every day in home delivery, and that鈥檚 not a thing that really any other sponsors are doing,鈥� said Thompson Bertschy, program specialist at the CHI, where he provides support to summer meals sponsors. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 just because she鈥檚 so committed and passionate 鈥� She鈥檚 operating the program to its fullest extent.鈥�

New summer meals models emerge

In 2022, Congress passed legislation that to the federal summer meals program. Beginning in the summer of 2023, sponsors in low-income, rural areas had the permanent option of providing summer meals that can be eaten off-site 鈥� also called or non-congregate meals 鈥� through models like drive-thru, walk-up, home delivery, and more.

Previously, all summer meals had to be eaten at a specific location, like at a public park or library. That requirement created numerous barriers to access, particularly in rural communities where children without transportation often can鈥檛 reach sites.

Now, in Transylvania County, any child can access free summer meals to-go through one of three models.

A 鈥済roceries to-go鈥� model is offered once a week at Pisgah Forest Elementary. Parents drive through a pickup line and receive all the ingredients needed for seven days of breakfast and lunch. That includes frozen meat patties, whole-grain bread, a gallon of milk, and fresh, often-local produce (families received bags of local heirloom tomatoes, plus apples and oranges, on the day EdNC visited).

Alternatively, families can pick up hot lunches and breakfast for the next day, Monday through Thursday, in the parking lot of a local pool. On Thursdays, additional shelf-stable items are provided to cover breakfast and lunch over the weekend.

But for families facing transportation barriers, a third model 鈥� home delivery 鈥� provides a crucial solution.

鈥淭hose barriers can look like no transportation at all, or a one-vehicle family, or a grandmother who鈥檚 taking care of multiple children, or if their road is hard to access, or if we鈥檙e hard to access for them,鈥� Broda said. 

SUN Meals To-Go has gained traction across the state, with more sponsors offering it each year. According to the CHI, there were seven SUN Meals To-Go sponsors in summer 2023, 33 sponsors in summer 2024, , and 60 sponsors in summer 2026.

This growth has allowed sponsors to reach more children. In summer 2025, 5.3 million summer meals were served across the state, up from 4.2 million meals served in summer 2024, according to the CHI.

How home delivery in Transylvania County grew out of moments of crisis

Transylvania County, tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains between Asheville and Greenville, South Carolina, is also called the 鈥淟and of Waterfalls.鈥� The county is home to roughly 30,000 residents, 250 waterfalls, and multiple national forests 鈥� attracting tourists and retirees alike.

鈥淚t may look affluent 鈥� we have a lot of second and third homes here,鈥� Broda said. But the reality is that are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

During the school year, the district uses the federal , available to districts in low-income areas, to provide all students with breakfast and lunch for free. But 鈥渉unger doesn鈥檛 stop when the school year ends,鈥� Broda said, making summer meals a vital support for the district鈥檚 students.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, federal waivers provided schools with the flexibility to offer meals through grab-and-go, curbside pick-up, and home delivery. Soon after schools closed, Transylvania County Schools to ensure students were still being fed.

鈥淭here are three or four trailer park developments that are on top of a mountain with huge poverty, and the children who live in those trailer park areas really can鈥檛 access anything,鈥� Broda said. 鈥淥ur staff are part of that community as well, and they know who the children are. It was a grassroots effort 鈥� going out, having sign-ups, and speaking to the community.鈥�

When home delivery became a permanent option in 2023 through SUN Meals To-Go, Broda said the district used lessons learned from delivering meals during the pandemic to inform its home delivery approach, which launched in the summer of 2024.

But another crisis was right around the corner. In September 2024, just one month into the school year, caused widespread devastation across western North Carolina, wiping out roads, knocking down trees and power lines, and flooding homes. 

Communications were down across the county for days, but Broda used word of mouth and walkie-talkies to convene staff at the district鈥檚 warehouse. Whoever showed up went to work on feeding students. Once again, the district鈥檚 prior experience with home delivery proved valuable.

鈥淎fter the hurricane, that (next) Monday, we were out serving meals. We were closed for two weeks, but we knew how to get meals to the children because we had these routes established from the summer time,鈥� Broda said.

Recognizing there was greater need across the county after Helene, one home delivery route in summer 2024 expanded to two routes in summer 2025 and three routes in summer 2026, aided by funding from the CHI that helped the district purchase materials, supplies, and an additional vehicle.

What does it take to deliver summer meals?

Broda is the first to admit that delivering summer meals is hard, particularly on top of the other responsibilities her team has for serving meals during the school year.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a commitment there 鈥� both for children and for staff to be employed,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we haven鈥檛 even ended last fiscal year. We are still being audited for last school year, we started summer, and we have to prepare for the next school year 鈥� we鈥檙e doing that all at the same time.鈥�

Broda describes home delivery as a 鈥渄aily grind鈥� 鈥� she never wants to cancel a delivery, so when challenges arise or a staff member can鈥檛 make it in, there鈥檚 a constant need to iterate and adapt. There鈥檚 also the heat, the rain, the traffic, and the 10-hour shifts, all when staff could otherwise be taking a well-earned break.

But at the end of the day, it鈥檚 all worth it, Broda said, because 鈥渁 lot of kids don鈥檛 go home to a fridge that鈥檚 full.鈥� 

鈥淥ur staff put their heart and soul and sweat in this every single day,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese are their cafeteria ladies 鈥� (the children) know them 鈥� and that鈥檚 why our staff get back in the vehicle every day.鈥�

Broda said she and her staff work together to make the program as effective as possible, learning from challenges and iterating each year to improve operations and reach more children. And while she believes there is no one-size-fits-all approach to home delivery, factors that have contributed to the program鈥檚 success include:

• Sound and shared logistics: The district distributes a Google Form in late May to collect signups for home delivery. Parents or guardians have to provide their address, the children鈥檚 names, and a phone number and email address. The district also uses Google Sheets to document everything about the home delivery program, including delivery routes, accountability procedures, eligibility criteria, and more. Using these shared tools allows all staff to seamlessly access information about the program and iterate quickly.
• Consistent delivery times: Families need to know meals will show up at roughly the same time each day so they can be available to receive them. Once signups were collected, routes were created using a combination of artificial intelligence and staff鈥檚 knowledge of local roads. Each route runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and families are given an approximate delivery time based on their sequence in the route. Week over week, that time gets more consistent as the routes are formalized. Instead of approaching doors, staff honk. If no one comes out, they call, and if no one answers, they move on to the next stop.
• Clear communication with families and staff flexibility: In an effort to reduce food waste, families are encouraged to contact the district when they know they won鈥檛 be available, and routes can be adjusted to arrive at better times as needed. Broda said staff learned to remain flexible, open-minded, and ready to adjust delivery routes quickly to best meet families鈥� needs.
• Staff willingness to work: Many child nutrition directors and staff take breaks during the summer months. But operating daily home delivery every week of summer break requires a subset of staff to continue working. In Transylvania County, about 40% of school nutrition staff remain employed through summer meals, which they opt into. Broda requires staff to take a two-week break, but otherwise, they do not take extended leave. This provides consistent employment for those that want to work, but also requires staff to commit to limiting their time off.

Growth in Transylvania County鈥檚 home delivery program has significantly expanded access to summer meals. In the summer of 2025, the district served , a 35% increase from the previous summer.

For tips on home delivery implementation, from the Carolina Hunger Initiative.

What would it take for more districts to do the same?

Before a sponsor can deliver summer meals, they first have to be eligible for and opt into SUN Meals To-Go. From there, the sponsor can choose any number of to serve meals 鈥� including drive-thru, pick-up, and home delivery. Some districts, like Transylvania County Schools, operate multiple SUN Meals To-Go models at once, while others stick to a single approach.

The CHI works to support more summer meals sponsors in offering SUN Meals To-Go. As non-congregate models become more common across the state, Bertschy said the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), which oversees the federal summer meals program, has increasingly provided resources and worked to reduce the administrative burden of operating the program. Given the additional logistics that come with operating SUN Meals To-Go, sponsors have to operate congregate meals for at least one summer before DPI will approve them to serve non-congregate meals.

As of the summer of 2026, 60 of the state鈥檚 100 counties are served by a SUN Meals To-Go program, with most using drive-thru or pick-up models.

At the end of the day, Bertschy said, the decision to offer SUN Meals To-Go often comes down to a sponsor being willing to take a leap of faith. Demand is less predictable than at congregate meal sites, which often serve children enrolled in camps or other programming. Sponsors often have to buy food for non-congregate sites before they know how many families will actually show up, and having enough staff available to work the summer months can also be challenging.

With home delivery, there are also vehicle and fuel costs in addition to the logistics of planning routes, storing food, and keeping staff safe.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just really stepping into the unknown of: 鈥楬ow big is this program going to get?鈥欌�� said Bertschy.

To encourage shared learnings between non-congregate sponsors, CHI is working with DPI to foster a community of practice for non-congregate sponsors by offering office hours, connecting nutrition directors, and coordinating site visits. 

Another critical element of summer meal program success is funding. The majority of funding for summer meals comes from federal per-meal reimbursements, which are in rural areas. Those funds have to cover every cost to operate the program 鈥� including staff, equipment, food, and supplies 鈥� and are often stretched thin.

To supplement federal funding, CHI has provided Transylvania County Schools with nearly $60,000 in grants over the last three years, enabling the home delivery program to expand.

鈥淛anette works really hard to make this the example of what the program could be at its best 鈥� and if people would support the programs properly with funding and what they need, every district could be like this,鈥� said Andrew Harrell, program and communications manager at the CHI. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not because people don鈥檛 want to serve fresh, local foods 鈥� it鈥檚 because they鈥檙e underfunded.鈥�

Broda鈥檚 advice to other sponsors considering home delivery is to start small and stay open-minded and flexible. That might look like starting with one route and working out the kinks for a summer before expanding further.

鈥淗ome delivery meets our children鈥檚 needs the best because we can meet them where they are and give them a hot meal, providing the best quality nutrition we have. And so if you have responsible staff, energy, and motivation to do that, then I would highly suggest it,鈥� she said.

For Yari Rahn, a school nutrition manager who drives one of the home delivery routes, the program does more than provide nutritious food 鈥� it also allows her to touch base with students every day, rain or shine, greeting them with a familiar face and checking in on how they鈥檙e doing.

During one recent stop on her route, a child was so excited that he was waiting down the block from his house for the van to arrive. Once he saw the van pull on to his street, he ran alongside it until it reached his house.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hot, but when those kids come out, it鈥檚 well worth it,鈥� she said.

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently that provided roughly $1 billion in funding for the purchase of food by schools and food banks. 

And the , which reimburses tens of thousands of schools that provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, may tighten its requirements, potentially pushing some 12 million kids out of the program.

These moves come at the same time the House Republican budget plan to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The program fed more than per month nationwide in 2023. In 2022, 40% were  

This recent shift reflects a stark reversal of earlier, nationwide efforts to keep families fed during the pandemic. Many districts, such as Baltimore, organized days after schools were shuttered in March 2020 with no identification or personal information required. Those initiatives led to the nation鈥檚 food insecurity rate dropping to a when it reached 10.2% in 2021, down from a 14.9% high a decade earlier, according to the USDA.

It has since crept back up to 13.5% and now, five years after schools utilized USDA waivers to deliver meals in , they are bracing for what could be massive cuts from the federal government.

Elizabeth A. Marchetta, executive director of food and nutrition services for Baltimore City Public Schools, said 31 campuses 鈥� serving 19,000 children 鈥� would lose out on free breakfast and lunch if the Community Eligibility Provision changes go through. They are among 393 schools and who would be shut out. 

鈥淚t would be devastating,鈥� Marchetta said. 鈥淭hese are critical funds. If we are not being reimbursed for all of the meals we鈥檙e serving 鈥� the money has to come from somewhere else in the school district, so that is really not great.鈥�

Nearly benefited from the Community Eligibility Provision in the 2023-24 school year. The program reimburses schools that provide universal free meals based on the percentage of their students who automatically qualify for free and reduced-price lunch because their families receive other types of assistance, like SNAP. 

In 2023, after the COVID-era policy ended where any student could receive a free school meal regardless of income, President Biden lowered the percentage of high-need students required for a school to qualify from , greatly expanding participation. 

House GOP Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington now seeks to . The budget proposal would also require all students applying for free and reduced-price meals to submit documentation verifying their family income.

, a barometer of food insecurity among students, is already on the rise. It will almost certainly increase if universal school meals disappear for students whose families make too much to qualify for free and reduced-price lunch but too little to afford to buy meals at school. At the same time, kids who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals could lose that benefit if the required paperwork becomes harder. 

In the fall of 2023, across 808 school districts, the median amount of school meal debt was $5,495. By the fall of 2024, that amount reached $6,900 across 766 districts, a 25% increase, according to the .

It was just $2,000 a decade earlier. A trio of Democratic senators is the , with Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman saying in 2023, 鈥溾�楽chool lunch debt鈥� is a term so absurd that it shouldn鈥檛 even exist. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 proud to introduce this bill to cancel the nation鈥檚 student meal debt and stop humiliating kids and penalizing hunger.”

Research shows students benefit mightily from free meals: those who attend schools that adopted the Community Eligibility Provision saw compared to those who did not. Free in-school meals are also credited for boosting attendance among low-income children, improving classroom behavior and

Joel Berg, the CEO of , said further cuts will greatly harm the poorest students. 

鈥淥ver the last few years, things have gone from bad to worse,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were all raised seeing Frank Capra movies, where, in the end everything works out. But that’s not how the real world works. In the real world, when the economy gets a cold, poor people get cancer.鈥�

the number of Americans who didn鈥檛 have enough to eat over two one-week periods between August-September 2021 and August-September 2024. The states with the highest rates of food insecure children were Texas at 23.8%, Oklahoma at 23.2% and Nebraska at 22.6%. Georgia and Arkansas both came in at 22.4%. 

The USDA slashed the $660 million 鈥� it allowed states to purchase local foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, for distribution to schools and child care institutions 鈥� and $500 million from the , which supported food banks nationwide. 

Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations for the School Nutrition Association, said that as families struggle with the high cost of groceries, the government should be doing more 鈥� not less 鈥� to bolster school meals and other food aid programs. 

鈥淲e’re urging Congress not only to protect the federal Community Eligibility Provision, but to expand it,鈥� Pratt-Heavner said. 鈥淚deally, all students should have access to free school breakfast and lunch as part of their education.鈥� 

SNAP benefits stood at $4.80 per person per day through 2020 before jumping to more than after they were adjusted for rising food and other costs. Even then, the higher amount was not enough to in most locations. 

Republicans in Congress seek to cut the program by over the next nine years, possibly by returning to the pre-pandemic allotment of $4.80 and/or expanding work-related requirements, said Salaam Bhatti, SNAP director at t. 

Another possibility, he said, is that SNAP costs could be pushed onto states 鈥� including those that can’t afford them. 

鈥淭his would be an unfunded mandate,鈥� Bhatti said. 鈥淪tates would have to take away from their discretionary spending to offset the cost and if it is not a mandate, then states in rural America and in the South that don鈥檛 have the budgets just won鈥檛 do it.鈥� 

Food-related funding decreases come as the child tax credit, created to help parents offset the cost of raising children, is also facing uncertainty, said Megan Curran, the director of policy at the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.

The American Rescue Plan increased the amount of the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for qualifying children under age 6, and $3,000 for those under age 18. Many taxpayers received monthly advance payments in the second half of 2021, instead of waiting until tax filing season to receive the full benefits. The move The expanded child tax credit was allowed to lapse post-pandemic and now even the $2,000 credit could revert back to just $1,000. 

All food-related and tax benefit cuts 鈥� plus the unknowns of Trump-era tariffs 鈥� will leave some Americans particularly vulnerable, Curran said. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 shaping up to be a very precarious time for families,鈥� she said, 鈥渆specially families with children.鈥�

鈥淒uring the pandemic, we felt compelled to respond swiftly to the isolation of families with young children by meeting families where they are,鈥� says Lindsey Lockman Dougherty, an advisor on early childhood development for Save the Children. 鈥淎nd in each case, the efforts became so popular and appreciated that we are continuing and expanding the approach to reach the most isolated and underserved members of the community.鈥�

Here are three stories from America鈥檚 byways.

A Tribute to Dad

Peggy Hamby鈥檚 official title is director of Food Service & Nutrition for the public school system of Morgan County, Tennessee, but on Tuesdays she goes the extra mile鈥攁nd then some. Riding Gus the Bus, she travels the winding roads of the county, delivering not just food but books and educational materials to 250-300 families as part of the local schools鈥� partnership with Save the Children.

鈥淎ll the kids know that Gus comes on Tuesdays,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something to look forward to.鈥� For Hamby, Gus鈥檚 mission is especially personal; the bus is named for her late father, who worked as a mail carrier in the community. She and the bus drivers decorate the vehicle and dress up for Christmas in July and Hawaiian Day, among other celebrations.

She knows everybody on the route and describes a family living temporarily in a motel, numerous seniors raising their grandchildren and a 16-year-old who watches three younger siblings鈥攚ho all rely on the spaghetti, chicken fajitas and other prepared meals as well as groceries, including fresh local vegetables courtesy of . Hamby points out that distributing food in this manner is only possible because USDA restrictions have been temporarily relaxed during the pandemic, but she hopes, on behalf of the families, that things stay this way.

Tamara Sandberg, Save the Children鈥檚 U.S. Food Security and Nutrition Senior Advisor, adds that the USDA鈥檚 has allowed for creative solutions in offering enrichment opportunities to children, even when they do not consume the meals on site. Save the Children and partners are urging Congress to extend USDA鈥檚 authority to issue nationwide waivers through the 2022-23 school year to help child nutrition providers maintain critical flexibility in how they reach kids with the food they need.

Turning on a Dime

Save the Children Kindergarten Readiness Ambassador Kim Bolling admits she was less than thrilled at first about the prospect of driving Rosie the Readiness Bus around Perry County, Kentucky. The narrow, bumpy roads made her nervous, but she knew something had to change. Some areas in the county lack any preschool programs, and attendance had been less than stellar at the three Play & Learn Group locations set up in community settings by the local school district and Save the Children.

Bringing food, four books per family each month and family engagement programming to families made a lot of sense, especially when families lack transportation, along with phone, internet and other basics. 鈥淢y family didn鈥檛 have a lot when I was growing up,鈥� Bolling says. 鈥淎s the child in a single-parent home, I would have benefited from a program like this.鈥�

Just like ice cream trucks, the colorfully decorated vehicles attract children of all ages, but the organization has discovered an added benefit. In the most remote areas of the community, some families can be wary of unmarked vehicles approaching their home to deliver home-based early learning programs. Murals on the side signal their friendly intentions.

Rosie got rolling just as the pandemic hit, and Bolling had added motivation to brave the roads鈥攆amilies in her community needed help. 鈥淲e never stayed stationary,鈥� Bolling recalls. 鈥淚 never thought about the risk.鈥� Often in the company of other family-serving professionals, Bolling offers daily 鈥渃lassroom on wheels鈥� programs鈥擬ovement Monday, Try It Tuesday and so on鈥攖o 40 families, who receive books, art and school supplies, sanitizer, masks, kits and occasional extras like snacks and rubber duckies.

In partnership with Susan Sizemore, one of Save the Children鈥檚 Collective Impact advisors, families received food boxes through until last May when the USDA program ended. On one especially cold day, every mom along the route was so moved by Rosie鈥檚 appearance that they each wept. Many organizations provide contributions to Save the Children, including board games and, once, a tiny dress from the Salvation Army turned out to be one little girl鈥檚 favorite birthday present. Sidewalk chalk, which became a scarce commodity early in the pandemic, proved especially popular.

And those narrow Kentucky roads? 鈥淣ow I can turn Rosie on a dime,鈥� Bolling smiles.

A Learning Experience on Wheels

The largest private sector employer in Cocke County, Tenn recently ceased production. Standing close to the North Carolina border, the county has high rates of substance abuse, child abuse and other woes that often accompany poverty. Jennifer Ellison of the Cocke County Cradle to Career Coalition鈥攊nitiated by Save the Children鈥攕ays an important element of her job is to coordinate targeted, collective impact approaches that advance learning outcomes for all children in the community, to keep kids and families from falling through the cracks. Since 鈥渒ids can鈥檛 learn if they鈥檙e hungry,鈥� supplying food and meals is critical to addressing barriers to learning for many children in the county. Until last May, they also distributed food boxes through the USDA program. Since that time, the community is taking new approaches to increase access to food and learning resources, including a brand-new mobile unit.

The ABC Bus (it stands for alphabet, books and creativity) is covered with pictures of mountains, bears, apples and butterflies designed by an alumna from the local high school. Ellison says it鈥檚 equipped for everything children need to learn鈥攁ctivity areas, learning materials, digital devices, a generator, Wi-Fi, heating and air conditioning. Additionally, the bus is equipped with storage to support food distributions throughout the community.

Stops on the ABC Bus鈥檚 route will include the Walmart parking lot, public libraries and public housing in and around the community. In areas of the county where there have been challenges to reach families, families have been eager to come out and engage when the ABC Bus rolls into their neighborhood. Ellison mentions a father and his shy son who visited the bus during a recent stop in their neighborhood. After an hour of carefully exploring the bus together inside and out, the boy鈥檚 only words were a cheerful bye-bye when he left.

Ellison and her ABC Bus sidekick, Kathy Holt, both agree that one of the best outcomes from the initiative has been the tidal wave of volunteerism it has incited. 鈥淚鈥檝e asked 12 people for help,鈥� says Holt, 鈥渁nd 12 people have said yes.鈥�

Disclosure: Vroom was created by Bezos Family Foundation, which published the former Early Learning Nation.

Food is powerful. Food can trigger memories. It can bring families close together and it can help us connect to other cultures. That, in a nutshell (or a filo puff), is the story of Krieger鈥檚 decades-long crusade to help America learn to love healthy food. 鈥淔ood can open doors to relationships and to understanding people better,鈥� says the registered dietitian and nutritionist, best-selling cookbook author and host of public television鈥檚 . 鈥淚t is a very natural portal to community.鈥�

When Krieger talks nutrition, she often encounters deeply rooted food anxieties, some of which she has experienced firsthand, but her resolute faith in vegetables鈥攃oupled with a refreshing lack of judgment鈥攈elps families to discover healthy meals together.

Here are her five tips for parents and caregivers looking to achieve or restore food sanity:

1. Erase the idea of a children鈥檚 menu. Krieger understands that different people have different taste preferences. 鈥淲e鈥檙e born with likes and dislikes,鈥� she acknowledges, 鈥渂ut a lot of it has to do with exposure.鈥� Parents often reflect on their own histories with food and jump to conclusions about what their children will enjoy. One conclusion to avoid is labeling certain dishes as appropriate or inappropriate for the little ones.

鈥淚f I could,鈥� she says, 鈥淚 would take an eraser and erase the children鈥檚 option off every restaurant menu. We really have invented this 鈥榢id food鈥� thing. Historically, and if you look at different cultures around the world, kids are eating what the rest of the family is eating.鈥� She adds that the children鈥檚 dishes might be slightly less seasoned or a softer texture, depending on their age. (Also, for the record, she has nothing against chicken fingers.)

2. Don鈥檛 give up on picky eaters. The home version of the children鈥檚 menu is the nightly plate of plain noodles with butter. How do you introduce variety? Krieger recommends remembering what it鈥檚 like to be two years old: 鈥淲hen you’re that age,鈥� she says, 鈥淵ou don’t really have much control over your life. Imagine if someone could pick you up and move you. But they cannot force you to swallow something, so that is one thing that you can control.鈥�

Don鈥檛 fall into the trap of begging or tricking children into eating a dish they鈥檙e refusing; that just fuels the power struggle. Krieger鈥檚 daughter, now a college student, has always disliked chicken, and when she used to refuse any of the many chicken dishes Krieger cooked, she was allowed to eat whatever else was on the table or, at most, Krieger would open up a can of chickpeas to accommodate her. Her daughter still doesn鈥檛 like chicken, but along the way she has developed an appetite for diverse flavors.

鈥淭ry looking at taste as something that is dynamic, not set in stone,鈥� Krieger advises. 鈥淭hey might not like mushrooms or asparagus the first time, but then they might like it the fifth time. There’s research that shows it takes up to 12 exposures.鈥�

3. Visit the farmer鈥檚 market. The produce section of the grocery store can be full of wonders, but there鈥檚 something magical about the local farmer鈥檚 market, where the growers are often right there displaying the products of their labor. Krieger goes weekly. 鈥淚 have a conversation with my farmer and find out what鈥檚 there, what’s coming up, what he’s growing now.鈥�

Her favorite farmer鈥檚 market remained open鈥攚ith precautions鈥攖hroughout the pandemic, and she calls it 鈥渙ne of my tethers of happiness.鈥� And here鈥檚 where Krieger reveals a truth that might be unsurprising but nonetheless caught me off guard: 鈥淚 often think of myself as a vegetable marketer,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t might appear like I鈥檓 talking about a fabulous, easy-to-make recipe, but secretly I鈥檓 doing it as a way to get people to eat vegetables.鈥�

4. Entertain鈥攚ithout wearing yourself out. Krieger鈥檚 demeanor on TV is upbeat and confident, but she confesses that, like many driven people, it鈥檚 鈥渟ort of that duck thing, that the duck is just gliding along the water, but underneath they’re paddling like crazy. So there’s definitely a part of me that feels not always calm and not always soothed but actually sort of harried and sometimes insecure about everything.鈥�

She鈥檚 learning to balance her ambitions and her need to unwind. When it comes to having company over, she tries to go easy on herself. 鈥淚f you’re feeling stressed, like you’re having to do a million last-minute items, then you’re not going to be able to really engage with guests in the way that you’re hoping to.鈥� Her suggestion: laying out the fixings for a home 鈥渢aco night鈥� or grain bowl, which can be sorted ahead of time. It鈥檚 festive and fun and healthy and has the added advantage of letting people assemble their own dishes according to dietary preferences or food allergies.

5. Organize a food festival in your community. Asked about how she chose to study nutrition in college and graduate school, Krieger initially makes it sound simple: 鈥淚 always just loved eating.鈥� But when she adds, 鈥淎nd in my family, food was love, and I was very well loved,鈥� she acknowledges early struggles to with overeating, undereating and disordered eating. 鈥淚 found a place where I could love food in a healthy way.鈥�

By the time she had a family of her own, she wanted to share what she鈥檇 learned鈥攏ot just on TV but in her neighborhood. She started a wellness committee in her daughter鈥檚 public school, recruiting some other parents to join her. 鈥淥ne of our initiatives was a tasting experience for the kids in the lunchroom. We roasted cauliflower and served it before the school lunch.鈥� More than bestselling cookbooks or hosting a popular series, she seems especially proud that, years later, one of the participants approached her on the street to thank her for the cauliflower.

Krieger鈥檚 approachability onscreen and off spills over into her vibrant online presence. On and , she solicits cooking suggestions and perspectives, which she then incorporates into her show and books. 鈥淚’m always learning from people,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 try to approach every single day and every moment as a learner.鈥�