KidsPack, a non-profit organization that provides weekend meals to students experiencing homelessness, does not have the funding as of now to meet the growing demand, its leader said.
Executive director Patty Strickland said 4,900 students have been referred to KidsPack, which is an increase of 900 students compared to last year.
“We only have enough money for about half that amount so the need is great to be able to find sponsors that are willing to step up,” said Strickland.
In her nine years at KidsPack, Strickland has watched demand grow from a few hundred students to nearly 5,000.
The students who qualify receive the food from KidsPack at the end of the school day on Fridays.
“Hunger is when you leave school on Friday, and on Monday, you come back, and all you had was water to drink over the weekend. That’s hunger,” she explained.
Strickland said KidsPack has to grapple with the same challenges families are facing, including higher food and gas prices.
“This is a need that we all need to be aware of, that we want to get these children an education,” Strickland said. “They do not have the fuel to learn, and if you can’t learn, there is no pathway out of poverty.”
A benefit of KidsPack is that the food comes to the students at school, eliminating the need for families to find transportation to get to food banks or grocery stores.
Many communities are in what are commonly referred to as “food deserts,” places where finding food requires a mode of transportation.
“It helped me tremendously,” said Stevie Ellison, whose children received KidsPack food when they were young. “It was a big help not having transportation and not having a way to get to the store.”
She said her family looked forward to the meals.
“It provided comfort for them,” she said. “We weren’t always sure if somebody was gonna bring us something or if we could get to the store and I know it gave them peace of mind.”
It costs $430 to sponsor a child for the year. Donations can be split into $30 monthly payments.
To learn more, including how to donate money or food, visit https://www.kidspack.org/.