Ursuline grad champions ‘3 o’clock’ food for kids

This class of 2005 alumna said childhood nutrition became a passion, so much so that in 2016 she founded the nonprofit Three O’Clock Project in Louisiana and served as its executive director.
    

It was evident to Chatelain through her nutrition consultant business working in  public schools that there was a great need to feed healthy meals to children after school, considering it might be the last meal they got each day. 
    

During the regular school year, Three O’Clock Project provides meals to 5,000-10,000 at-risk students, ages 18 and younger, and special needs students, ages 21 and younger, in 300 schools in 20 states. 
    

“A lot of kids didn’t have a meal to go home to,” Chatelain said. “It’s just a reality with a lot of the schools (educating students from low-income families). They depend on schools for nutrition.”
 

COVID exposed need
    

When Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards shut down schools due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Chatelain knew – after living in Louisiana all her life and working with schools statewide – that the students she fed after school regularly would be in trouble. 
    

“I decided there was going to be a need, and we could fill it,” Chatelain said about stepping in. “I knew we could at least support who we were serving. I started calling food truck owners to serve meals.”
    

Three O’Clock Project quickly mobilized and became a meal sponsor approved by the Louisiana Department of Education for children 18 and under. Within five days, Chatelain said the Baton Rouge-based non-profit, with some federal money, was able to lease a commercial kitchen and hire staff and chefs.
    

Spearheaded by Jeff Landry of Taco de Paco, Three O’Clock Project  worked with local restaurants and chefs  to expand its reach statewide in partnership with school districts  and other organizations in Orleans, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, Plaquemines and Livingston, St. Landry and Ascension parishes. 
    

Through mobile routes and grab-and-go sites, Chatelain said she is reaching families in underserved neighborhoods in Metairie, Harahan and the West Bank, serving an average of 50,000 meals a day.
    

“So many people who wouldn’t have needed assistance before, now do,” Chatelain said. “People are saying thank you so much, it’s such a help, I just lost my job.”
    

The food insecurity that has happened because of COVID is unimaginable, she said, adding that a recent survey revealed food to be the top concern among families in Louisiana. “It’s not education,” she said. “Families say they are anxious about where they will get their food.”
    

While she normally has a manager for Three O’Clock Project, during this crisis she has been hands-on and has hired two additional people in New Orleans and an additional person in Baton Rouge. She said she takes no paycheck from the nonprofit.
    

The nonprofit gained a monetary boost to expand its meals served when the state of Louisiana, through the governor’s COVID-19 Response Fund, granted Three O’Clock Project $100,000.
 

Teachers modeled ‘Serviam’
    

“My mentors at Ursuline Academy are who shaped a lot of what I do,” Chatelain admits. She listed Ursuline coach Marta Bott, former Ursuline Academy principal Nancy Hernandez and social studies teacher Karen Gardes among them.
    
“You could tell they (and others) were all friends outside of school and got along really well with each other and still are very close,” Chatelain said. “Individually, each of them is really a strong woman. Being a teenager, it was important to see that they were smart, intelligent, they were advocates for us. They disciplined us when we needed it; they weren’t always buddy-buddy with us. … They were a guiding light in high school.”
    

Several of her Ursuline classmates are involved with Three O’Clock Project: Dana Corona Michel is a board member and helps with marketing; Katherine Heath monitors the COVID operations in New Orleans; Fabi Ascencio is donating a percentage of sales from her clothing boutique to the effort.
    

Chatelain takes pride that Three O’Clock Project is serving healthy, from-scratch meals that not only comply with U.S. governmental guidelines but that children also enjoy. During the pandemic she’s serving breakfast and lunch daily for children. Some menu items have included beef and bean tacos, chicken and veggies and mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, grilled chicken sandwich and salad. Fresh fruit and milk accompany every meal.
    

She plans to continue serving meals as long as needed until kids return to school.
    

“I think a lot of school districts won’t come back for summer meals, so we intend to serve until schools open back up,” she said.
    

The nonprofit relies on grants and contributions to underwrite operations. For details, to donate or find out pick-up locations, visit https://www.threeoclockproject.org/covid.
    

Christine Bordelon can be reached at [email protected].