Backpack Buddies has lost its supplier in the Lakewood District, and is in danger of running out of food, according to Lakewood High Backpack Buddies Coordinator Heather Tew. And she is hoping those within the community might lend a hand.
For more information or to get involved with Backpack Buddies at Lakewood contact Tew at [email protected]
Backpack Buddies provides non-perishable items to students so they have nutritious food over the weekends when school breakfast and lunch isn’t available. Items are packed so they can easily be placed in a backpack to provide students anonymity.
For years, the Christian Food Bank of Salemburg has fed students in need at Lakewood High School, but the food bank doesn’t have the means anymore, the coordinator noted.
“There’s such a large need in the community,” stressed Tew. “We’ve got to share the responsibility.” She emphasized that food bank organizers wanted to continue, but because of the other needs in the community, she knew their already limited donations were being stretched thin.
“We’ve removed ourselves from asking to keep the burden off them and, so far, we’ve been reaching out to a few churches, Tew explained, adding that the food bank had even told those at Lakewood “we’ll make it work,” but that she knew Backpack Buddies had to expand its network with the growing needs in the schools and community.
The coordinator named Salemburg Baptist, Hickory Grove Baptist, Harmony Baptist, and The VFW Auxiliary as donors to the program so far.
Over the summer, Tew said, she spent a lot of time praying, planning, and preparing for the new Backpack Buddies year.
“I knew there would be a need, and I kept trying to figure out the best way to ask our community for donations and support,” she stressed.
“I reached out first to my own church, Harmony Baptist Church, and asked if they would help us get started in August. As they always do, they answered the call tremendously,” Tew emphasized, sharing that the church provided approximately a month’s worth of food, along with monetary donations, “which gave us a wonderful start to the school year,” she stated.
“But something else happened that really touched me. Before school even started, and before Hickory Grove Baptist Church knew that we needed help getting Backpack Buddies up and running, Brittany Adams, a Hickory Grove member and Lakewood parent, showed up with bags of food already prepared for our students,” Tew explained.
“That moment meant so much to me because I had been praying and wondering how we were going to make everything work,” the coordinator expressed.
“It felt like a reminder that God knew the need before I ever voiced it and that He was already answering that prayer through His faithful servants,” Tew stressed.
Though needs have been met, they don’t go away, meaning that donations are needed continuously throughout the school year to ensure the program can continue.
“We absolutely need continued donations and community support to keep Backpack Buddies going, but experiences like this remind me that God is going to take care of these children through this program,” the coordinator attested.
“I want people to see how He has already answered our prayers,” Tew added.
Currently, the program at Lakewood High is serving 37 students each week.
The coordinator explained that each of those students get a gallon ziploc bag filled with about eight items: two breakfast, two lunch, two snacks, and two fruit/vegetable items.
The goal is to keep students fed over the weekend, with additional supplies given on long weekends and times of inclement weather.
“It comes to 300 items a week, with the cost of funding one month being about $725,” stated the coordinator.
“You don’t want children worrying about their next meal. You don’t want them going hungry. You never know what they’re going through.”
Tew explained that the main thing Lakewood needs is the food, and, really, just the resources to get the food.
Steps, such as picking up food or bagging it, she said, can be cumbersome, so if individuals or organizations want to support the program but don’t have the time to pick up the food, Tew said monetary donations can be made and she’ll gladly handle the rest.
“I like the system we have here because we have students in the occupational course of study pack the bags,” Tew emphasized.
The coordinator added: “I don’t want everybody to think they have to get the food and pack the bags, and then deliver them. My students want to pack the bags,” she urged “because they need the work hours to fulfill their graduation requirements.”
When it comes to food donations, Tew provided a list, urging against canned goods because they are heavy and take up a large amount of space in the ziplocs.
A big part of Backpack Buddies is providing students a discreet way to take the food home on the bus without drawing the attention of their fellow students. Items are picked with that in mind.
“Multiple students ask when Backpack Buddies is starting again each August, and food services that require transportation can be inaccessible to the students that rely on the school bus as their only means of transportation,” Tew stressed, explaining how crucial access to the weekly bag of food students get on Fridays is to many .
Shandy Kimp, who teaches the Occupation course of study at Lakewood, shared: “they look forward to it,” when asked about the students who receive the food, some who are in her class, the class that also packs the bags to earn work hours.
“You can tell which ones look forward to it because they really need it over the weekend,” she stressed.