Children's Hunger Initiative

 
In our community, 17,000 children are eligible for free or reduced-cost meals through the schools. Two innovative programs—the Children’s Summer Meals Program and the Children’s Backpack Program—have been successful in addressing this alarming truth and providing meals for children in need when school doors are closed.
 
Operated in partnership with Evergreen Public Schools, Vancouver School District and Washington State University Vancouver, these programs served 313 children through the 2008 Summer Lunch Program and 330 children, and their families, each week through the Backpack Program.
 

Backpack Program
Currently, food packs are filled with 5 to 10 pounds of donated, non-perishable, easy-to-prepare food. More than 330 packs are distributed to each of the 18 elementary schools participating in the program. The packs are discretely given out on Friday after school to ensure that children, and their families, have nutritious food to eat over the weekend. Generally, each pack includes a can of vegetables, a can of fruit, a can of beans, a protein (either tuna or peanut butter) and a carbohydrate (either bread of pasta). Each child also receives a small snack item, such as a granola bar.
 
Food items needed include: peanut butter, tuna, pasta/rice-a-roni, canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned beans, canned soups and stews, snacks (granola bars, crackers, apple sauce, puddings, small candies).
 

“Share is about gathering the bounty of the community and sharing it with those less fortunate.” – Andy Costello, Share Volunteer
 
Summer Lunch Program
Last year’s Summer Lunch Program was offered to children grades K-5 at Silver Star Elementary School. Over the course of the program (offered July 9 to Aug. 3), 313 individual children and more than 5,700 meals (including breakfast and lunch) were served during the four-week program.
 
The purpose of the program, in addition to being a service to the community, is to research the effects of poverty on education. Activities are led by students pursuing their masters in teaching degree at WSU Vancouver, as part of the “At Home at School” (AHAS) Program. The kids have a daily newspaper, computer classes, art classes, build bridges, play golf and even put on a musical at the end of the program. This partnership provides quality learning for the students and is an opportunity for the healthy meals progam to give a helping hand. Additionally, many community volunteers donate their time to provide their own areas of expertise in the arts, languages and sciences.
 
This year the program experienced a first for 40 of the children, in partnership with Columbia Springs Environmental Educational Center, featuring five days of nature walks, hikes, a salmon hatchery and numerous opportunities for outdoor and plant learning.
 
To support our Children’s Hunger Initiative, contact Tarinn Reynolds, Hunger Response Director, at (360) 695-7658 ext. 3304.

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