Family commits to feeding hungry students

Morrocroft resident and Huntingtowne Farms Elementary School volunteer Tracy Brown’s ultimate goal would be to feed all the needy school children who are underfed during the weekend.

On Oct. 5, 2012, Brown, 48, her husband Larry, 49, daughters Annie, 17, and Katie, 15, (son Sammy is 19 and away at college) began a three-year commitment to feed 51 Huntingtowne Farms Elementary homeless children every weekend during the school year through a nonprofit program called Blessings for Backpacks.

Brown’s children do not attend Huntingtowne Farms, but her connection with the school started when she and her daughter Annie, 17, started volunteering with the students through the Shalom Park Freedom School. They enjoyed their interactions with the children so much that Brown began volunteering in a kindergarten class as a reading/literacy tutor, and Annie started helping in the after-school program.

Working closely with the children, Brown realized that some of their basic needs were not being met.

“Even at night I wondered if these kids were eating,” said Brown.

Huntingtowne Farms is a Title I school with 86 percent of its students on federally subsidized meals, which generally include breakfast and lunch.

The thought that these children could be hungry nagged at her, so when Brown read “People” magazine’s article about the nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack, she took note.

Blessings in a Backpack serves schools in 42 states and three countries: Canada, Columbia, and Haiti. Blessings in a Backpack provides almost 62,000 elementary school-aged children who are receiving the Federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food for 38 weekends during the school year – www.blessingsinabackpack.org.

There are two schools in Charlotte, one of which is Huntingtowne Farms, which are benefitting from Blessing in a Backpack. Brown would like to see more schools adopt the program.

“The Blessings in a Backpack program is a wonderful and unique opportunity to support our student’s and their families by giving them non-perishable food items that they can take home for the weekend,” said Lindsay Newcomb, school counselor.

The counselors put the smaller backpacks of food into the children’s school backpacks each Friday and try not to call attention to what they are doing for privacy reasons.

“(The children) delight in bringing the backpacks back to us on Monday,” said Newcomb. “Their smiles make it all worthwhile.”

Brown budgets $3/week per child to fill the reusable backpacks that were donated by Eric Lerner of Action Plus Sportswear. She tries to make the money go as far as possible when she shops every other week for food, often with the help of fellow volunteer and friend Gail Baron, 49. Katie and Annie help too as their schedules allow.

Every other Thursday afternoon from 3:45 – 5 p.m. in the Huntingtowne Farms Elementary media center, the Brown family, their friends, and Temple Israel volunteers stuff backpacks for two weeks at a time. Volunteers sign up through www.signupgenius.com/go/805084DADAB2B0-blessings.

“It takes so little time and energy to make a meaningful difference,” said Baron. “Statistics have shown a marked increase in kids’ performances (as a result of receiving food from Blessings in a Backpack). It’s a really great volunteer opportunity to do with your kids.”

This is an example of what might be in a backpack for one weekend: one packet of oatmeal, one can of chicken noodle soup, one can of ravioli, a fruit cup, a juice box, one cereal bar, one full box of macaroni and cheese, one can of tuna, one applesauce, another juice box.

“It’s humbling for our kids (who are stuffing the backpacks) to look at that and to see that that’s all (the food) they are going to get,” said Baron.

“Hunger has a really big impact on children’s lives and their learning, and I believe no child should be worrying about where their next meal is coming from,” said Annie. “My hope is that this program will make a big impact in combating hunger. I think it is important for our community to get involved and make a difference.”

Thanks to volunteers, corporate and private donors, and the Brown family’s commitment to Blessings in a Backpack, 51 less children will go hungry during school weekends.