The Rotary Club of Mountain Top recently presented checks for $2,500 each to the food backpack programs at Rice Elementary and Fairview Elementary schools. The money was raised at the Rotary’s purse bingo.
Carolyn Boone, coordinator of the Fairview Elementary backpack food program, said the project help to replace the meals students would receive on the days they are in school – breakfast and lunch on weekends and days off when they are not in school. In a plastic grocery bag, the students receive single serve foods they could prepare on their own at home. The food includes a breakfast item (pop-tarts, cereal cups, oatmeal pouches), lunch item (cans of soup/chili, mac/cheese cups, Chef Boyardee cups, Ramen noodles), cups or pouches of fruit, sometimes a vegetable, and a few snacks for each day. When there is an extended weekend or holiday, Boone noted, extra food is sent home, including sometimes family size items like a box of mac & cheese, jar of peanut butter, box of cereal, etc.
Each school has a few volunteers that shop for the food and pack the bags.
Boone noted there are no requirements except to be a student in the school. Referrals may be made by anyone in the school for any child who may benefit from having some extra food while not in school. Parents may also request participation for their children.
“There are students in our schools who benefit greatly from receiving extra food to use at home,” Boone related. She pointed out the programs rely solely on donations from community organizations – (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions), individuals, and school-wide food collections held each year. The backpack food program at Fairview began in January of 2016 and was started at Rice a few years later.
