Food backpack program combats weekend hunger

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A partnership among several community entities aims to ensure Pickerington children don’t go hungry over the weekend when there’s no school lunch to be had.

Last fall, the Pickerington Local School District, PCMA Food Pantry of Pickerington and United Way of Fairfield County came together to create a larger version of the H.O.P.E. Packs Program. H.O.P.E. stands for Hands Out Providing Encouragement, and the program was previously run by Violet Baptist Church.

The food pantry has had efforts aimed at combating weekend hunger for years, but the H.O.P.E. endeavor was spurred on more recently as teachers noticed students coming back to school hungry on Monday mornings. They get school breakfast and lunch, but without that opportunity on the weekends, they may have to go without.

“In the fall of 2015, the United Way of Fairfield County reached out to the PCMA Food Pantry to see if the Pickerington Local School District was offering a weekend feeding program to income-eligible children in the schools throughout the district,” says Barbara Meek, coordinator of the food pantry.

Representatives of the three organizations formed a committee to figure out how to turn the idea into a community-wide project.

“(The program) began in the building with the highest percentage of children in the free or reduced lunch program: Tussing Elementary,” Meek says. “I believe 27 percent of the kids in the Pickerington Local School District are in the free or reduced lunch program, and teachers, counselors and principals were seeing kids come in on Monday hungry.”

All students in the school district’s free or reduced-price lunch program are eligible to receive packs of food to take home for the weekend. They may be referred to the program through teachers, principals or guidance counselors.

“Some examples of the food included in the packs are cereal, canned fruit and protein, protein bars, bread, and shelf-stable milk,” says Meek.

The contents of each bag vary, but among the items that may be included are:

  • Cereal
  • Canned fruit or protein
  • Protein bars
  • Bread
  • Shelf-stable milk
  • Peanut butter
  • Pudding
  • Canned lasagna
  • Canned spaghetti with meatballs
  • Beef ravioli
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Juice boxes
  • Applesauce
  • Toaster pastries

The food is obtained through the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and stored at Violet Baptist, where the bags are still put together each Friday morning by volunteers. The bags are then schools throughout the district. At present, 55-70 school children benefit from the H.O.P.E. program each week, and approximately 1,700 bags were handed out to children in the 2015-16 school year.

“It costs about $7.50 per bag that goes home with students,” says Sherry Orlando, executive director of the United Way of Fairfield County.

Organizers hope to continue to expand the program wherever it’s needed.

“The program cannot grow without the financial help and support of others in our community,” says Meek. “The program is strong and has continued to thrive because of the many great volunteers from several churches and the PCMA Food Pantry.”

In July 2016, the application and description of the H.O.P.E. Packs program were added to the school district website as part of an effort to raise awareness and increase ease of access.

“The H.O.P.E. Packs program serves a critical need for the students who rely on school breakfast and lunch during the week but are returning to school on Monday hungry,” says Meek.

Program information can be found at www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/food-services.

Paige Brown is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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