Megan’s Munchies

ISWTS’s SNACK BIN

Post-game munchies are common results experienced by high school athletes after competing in sports. At ISWTS, Coach Jim understands the importance of renourishing these athletes quickly after each game. For most high school athletes, the end of an evening game is usually less than 30 minutes away from a meal at home. For athletes supported by ISWTS, home is usually arrived at after a 30-minute school bus ride back to the high school, then often times as much as a two-hour city bus ride back to their neighborhood, followed by a 10-minute or more walk home. Post-game snacks are a huge part of keeping at-risk athletes on the pitch game after game.

At the end of the 2023 High School Soccer Season, Coach Jim’s neighbor Megan asked how she and her high school community service group could help It Starts with the Shoes, Inc.

At the time, The Lockland Soccer Team’s Fall Banquet was the next item on the agenda. Megan and her classmates then offered to use the money raised by her group to provide and serve the banquet meal at the Lockland Team Awards Dinner.

In 2024, prior to the Fall Soccer Season, Megan, then a high school senior, again reached out to Coach Jim to see how she could help. After a bit of discussion, it was agreed that Megan could alleviate a big portion of Coach Jim’s time by going on shopping errands to pick up team snacks for the Withrow and Lockland Teams funded by ISWTS donors.

This effort resulted in an expanded team snack provisioning that included snack distributions to not only Lockland and Withrow teams, but also to their opponents. With Megan’s efforts, Coach Jim was able to distribute snacks to a larger number of teams in the Fall of 2024. These teams included Trotwood Madison, Woodward, Aiken, Taft, DePaul Christo Rey, Purcell Marian, North College Hill, Belmont, Deer Park and Hughes High Schools.

As Coach Jim approached the coaching staff of these schools while distributing the snacks prepared by Megan, he was able to introduce to the staff the mission of ISWTS. Often this led to an immediate distribution of soccer shoes and shin guards to players in need. The mission was growing.

A simple ask by Megan has led to growing mission of reaching more school districts, communities, high schools and most importantly, individual athletes. As Megan moves on to college, ISWTS is seeking interested high school seniors with driver’s licenses and access to vehicles to continue ISWTS’s Megan’s Munchies program. Megan went above and beyond with her efforts. To achieve the results of her efforts without over-burdening any one individual, ISWTS will select several snack bin volunteers for 2025. If you are interested in being a Megan’s Munchies volunteer, please reach out to Coach Jim via email at director@itstartswiththeshoes.org