Last year an Orcas child almost fainted during an after-school sports activity. She told concerned adults that because it was a half-day for school – meaning no cafeteria lunch – she had had nothing to eat since her school breakfast.
“This is the type of person that is getting this pack [of food],” said local Packs for Kids program coordinator Rita Bailey. “When I hear stuff like that I think, how can it be on this island that we have kids that are hungry? These are kids that our kids are in sports teams with, or have playdates with, and you may not know that there is this need – that they are hungry.”
Counselors at Orcas Schools believe there at least 40 children attending Orcas Island Elementary and Middle Schools who may not be getting adequate food on weekends or school half-days. These kids qualify for free or reduced school meals, but may not be getting enough to eat outside of school.
Orcas Islanders are responding with a collaborative project between the Food Bank, the Orcas Island, PTSA, teachers and the Readiness to Learn program. Through a new program called “Packs for Kids,” they will supply food-filled packs for these children every Friday before school lets out. Anonymity is carefully guarded, and only school counselors know which children are participating. Once their parents fill out a permission form, kids can discreetly stop by a designated school office and tuck their bag inside a locker or backpack.
Foods include shelf stable milk, cereal, cup noodles, pop-top tins of ravioli/spaghetti or mac and cheese, tuna salad and crackers, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, raisins, fruit cups, applesauce, pudding and juice, and each child receives exactly the same set of foods.
Organizers believe supplying this food will help increase attendance, decrease behavior problems, improve concentration abilities and improve academic achievement for these children.
The Orcas program received startup funding this spring from the Orcas Island Community Foundation in the form of a $5,000 grant.
Ordering the food at cost, some of it through the food bank, organizers can supply each child a backpack loaded with food for $5 per week, $20 per month or $200 for the whole school year.
To feed 40 kids, the program needs $200 per week, or $8,000 for the 10-month 2011-12 school year. In addition to the $5,000 grant, organizers are working to raise another $3,000.
This spring the PTSA and the Orcas food bank collaborated on an eight-week pilot program pilot program that supplied food for 20-28 K-12 and OASIS students, and helped better direct their efforts.
“We really learned a lot in this pilot about how to order with the food bank, what types of food did well, what items we could get from the food bank for free,” said Bailey.
She encourages community members to step forward and sponsor a local child. While the program won’t supply a job for a parent or radically change a family’s situation, said Bailey, “For that one child, we can at least say, here’s something that will get you through the weekend until Monday morning breakfast.”
To sponsor a child or support the program with funds or food, contact Bailey at 298-2791 or fivebaileys@gmail.com. The Orcas food bank will accept checks for the program with the memo, “weekend packs.”
