COTC - 8 Jan 2025 - Project Feed The Kids

Speaker 0: Good morning. Northern Michigan. This is Cup of Traverse City for the 01/08/2026. I still wrote 2025 on the one check I've wrote this year so far, but, there we go. I got my coffee.

Let's take a look at the weather. Today, a 20% chance of showers after 4PM. Mostly cloudy with a high near 44. Wow. That's crazy, and that'll work.

South wind around 10 miles per hour. Tonight, showers before 1AM and then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 1AM and 4AM. That'll be interesting. Then showers after 4AM. Temperature falling to near 41 by 8PM and rising to around 46 during the remainder of the night.

Southwest winds around 10 miles per hour and gusts as high as 25. Chance precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between half and three quarters of an inch possible. That ought to add to our slushy. And on Friday rain showers, likely before 1PM and a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 1PM, 4PM, and a slight chance of snow showers after 4PM.

Mostly cloudy with a temperature falling around to around 36 by 5PM. Northwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour with gusts as high as 25. Chance precipitation is 70%, little or no snow accumulation expected. Now with those temperatures, so yeah, that's that's a bit warm and like I said, it's gonna add to our slush effect here. Like I said yesterday, it is a slushy mess in certain places.

So today is National Argyle Day. National Argyle Day is celebrated on January 8, and the pattern derives from a tartan of Clan Campbell of Argyle in Western Scotland. Scottish highlanders have worn the design in kilts, plaids, patterned socks known as tartan hose since the seventeenth century. Each year is recognized and honored on this day. So today I want to talk about a thing that started back in 2020 called Project Feed the Kids, that's a nonprofit here in Traverse City.

It's run by Tiffany McQueer and her husband who also own J And S South Airport and J And S Kingsley. Really good, little diner in both, both Traverse City and Kingsley. But they started this project feed the kids, where they make lunches for kids because, you know, during the COVID nineteen pandemic and, you know, some sense, you know, the kids weren't going to school and a lot of kids, the school lunch was their thing and, you know, that's where they got their food for the day, was at the school. So when the schools were closed, you know, everybody was work you know, doing their school from home online or however they were doing it. You know, a lot of lot of families had a little trouble, you know, making ends meet.

So they now have, and they did back then, they'd have coolers, set outside, and they would fill them up with these little bag lunches for kids, you know, sandwiches, whatnot. Each meal costs about $2.50, but it was free to anybody. They just pull up to a cooler and take what they need and and go. And, they've been maintaining this now for, you know, coming up on six years, and, they're they're doing rather well with it. In fact, the next to J And S South Airport, they have a whole a whole facility now where volunteers go in there and and make the lunches and, you know, Costco and a bunch of other places donate food for it, and it's, it's quite the deal.

And, now they have six coolers, spread around the county pretty much. And, you know, every once in a while, they'll have a big donation from Costco, so they'll put out, you know, bread and bagels and, you know, just whatever on on tables next to the coolers, and people can just take what they need. And so far, it's been pretty good. They've had a little bit of trouble with, you know, some vandalism and and whatnot, but, and they had one. It was a windstorm.

They have a cooler out by Chum's Corner somewhere. I forget where. I think it's by Tractor Supply, maybe. I don't remember. But, it got blown over in a windstorm, but, they got that repaired and put back and I think locked down a little bit more so it doesn't blow over.

Hopefully, hopefully, that's not the the norm and it hasn't been. So, but, yeah, check them out. You know, I frequent the diner there over at J And S South Airport, and and, you know, they have a big donation thing there. Usually, I'll pay in cash and then, throw the change in the in the, feed the kids bin there. And and, you know, they do a lot of things around Christmas time.

They have a huge, toy donation thing where they they help families that that need it. So but, yeah, this week or well yeah. So, anyway, a little bit of history. Says, they packed 81 meals that first week, and and they had hundreds of calls and whatever whatever, and they ended up packing about 500 meals that second week. And now they're up to about 3,000 meals, in a weekend, you know, so they'll spend, you know, a lot of time doing that and keeping those coolers stocked.

But, it's quite an operation over there. So if you're in the area and know somebody that that is in need, send them over to J and S and the cooler's there, and at least they can get some lunch. And that's a good thing. Anyway, we'll catch you tomorrow.