Backpack Program
Many young students are underachieving academically and are suffering physically because they lack a proper nutrition. Children who suffer from hunger are often labeled in their classrooms as the "troublemakers" or "unmotivated," and the root cause of their behavior is not addressed. More teachers, parents, and policy makers are now realizing that a lack of proper nutrition is to blame for this myriad of academic and behavioral issues, and they are fighting to improve the health and well-being of these affected children.
Our BackPack Program provides supplemental food over the weekends to "nutritionally at-risk" children at no cost. The bags of food are discreetly stored in students' backpacks by schoolteachers on Fridays while the students are at recess, so nobody knows who is suffering from hunger. A "BackPack" bag will usually contain a couple of tubes of peanut butter, small canned chicken or tuna, crackers, a fruit product, a root vegetable, and a granola bar. We are currently serving nearly 300 students at the Sahuarita Primary and Intermediate Schools, the Summit View Elementary School, and Continental School.
If you would like to volunteer on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 am to help assemble these bags, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Kay Novak at jknovak62@gmail.com
