SnackPack

I was shocked when I learned that 95,000 kids in the Kansas City area qualify for the free lunch program. Many of these kids go without food over the weekend because their parents do not or cannot provide food.

Our paper ran an article today about an interesting solution:

The Harvesters organization (our local food pantry) is working with schools in a program called BackSnack. They send a backpack full of food home with the kids on Fridays--and kids are thrilled to participate. The kids think it's special and even those who don't qualify want the backpacks. (At one of the participating schools, 75% of the kids qualify for free lunches, so it's easy to see why there's no stigma attached.)

They mentioned one family of five that has to make $214 worth of food stamps last all month. It made me sick to my stomach when I read that. We won't even talk about how much I spend each month on groceries, Target runs, and other things we really don't need.

I'm pondering ways to help with this effort locally. It just makes me so sad. Here's a link to the article, but I think you have to register (Free) to read. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/12838281.htm

This doesn't have much to do with writing, so I'll just add that I have a manuscript that touches on a similar topic. I really need to get those manuscripts out of this house! It's hard to sell anything when they live on my computer!