Food For Kids: Addressing Food Insecurity in Bedford County Schools

Author: Robyn Holmes, Food for Kids Grant Coordinator and Tricia Louque

Can you tell us about the mission of the Food For Kids – Weekend Pack a Sack Program?

The mission of Food for Kids is to address food insecurity for area children, helping to create a caring, supportive community for them that promotes learning and self-worth. We provide bags of food for elementary students in the attendance area of four Bedford County Elementary Schools. This year, we adapted to COVID Safety regulations and delivered the food bags to 5 locations. We coordinate the program with Bedford County Public Schools with weekly communication with the administrators and staff of each school. During the 2020-2021 school year, we delivered over 250 bags of food each week.

Can you tell us a story about something you have witnessed while volunteering with BCRS?

Because we coordinate our program with the public school system, we are not able to meet the students who receive food bags. However, we have been able to talk to school personnel to find out how the program benefits their students. We recently heard several stories that warmed our hearts and showed that the impact of our program goes far beyond providing food. Reports indicate that students are thrilled to receive their food bags, families in distress share the food items and use the food in recipes to feed the family and everyone in the family experiences a reduction of worry and distress because they know food will arrive on Thursday or Friday afternoon. One story example is a young couple that became guardians to 4 children about a year ago. They use all the food and snacks. Because the students bring the food home on the bus, the family is able to save gas and the children are well fed on weekends.

The impact of this program goes far beyond providing food for children on the weekends. Research and observation indicate that students who have nutritious meals and relief from hunger and worry do much better in school. They have fewer absences, better attention in class and better achievement in school. We hope that the families and their children feel part of a caring community and experience a feeling of security during rough times.

The many people across the community who support this program and do the work to make it happen benefit too. We experience a deep joy when we are taking care of our neighbors and doing God’s work in our community. We are inspired every time we meet to plan the program or pack the bags for the children. We see God’s hand in this mission in so many ways.

What was the biggest challenge you faced during the pandemic? Do you feel like you were able to address it?

During the spring of 2020 and the onset of the pandemic, we were always aware of God’s grace and answers to our prayers. We learned on March 13, 2020, that we could not pack bags for the next week because the room was too small to provide the necessary social distancing for our volunteers. Within days, we were offered the fellowship hall from Bethlehem United Methodist Church which met our needs perfectly. We moved and we were able to continue delivering food bags without missing a week. In the summer we searched for an appropriate packing room without success, but God took care of that and a local family provided us a perfect space in Moneta that we have used all year. We had serious problems finding the food that we needed because the food distribution system was unreliable. We had to reimagine what we could give the families. God answered our prayers. One Tuesday, we did not have any macaroni and cheese for the bags. A member of our board went out to Sam’s Club to buy toilet paper. He didn’t find any toilet paper but he came home with 900 boxes of macaroni and cheese. During the 2020-2021 school year, we learned to coordinate with Southwest Virginia Feeding America. We give twice as many canned, family-sized entrees and twice as many family-sized boxes of macaroni and cheese. The meals in the bags are more varied. We learned to take advantage of food drives. We notice blessings and answers to prayer every week.

What would you say to someone considering becoming involved?

I encourage anyone and everyone to become involved with missions like this one. Blessings are heaped upon our organization and every person who supports us with
prayer, funding, gifts and hours of volunteer work. This mission is so important. Our children are our future and the effects of the pandemic on the health and welfare of all
of us has been unimaginable. The need for food support for families continues to be a major concern. The rewards of doing this work are immense and critically important for the future of our society.

To learn more about the Food For Kids Program, visit https://www.foodforkidspackasack.org/ or follow them on Facebook!