With free/reduced lunch rates fluctuating in the Sequim School District around 1,200 students this school year, local volunteers expanded one program to help hungry students on the weekends.
Recently, the Sequim Schools Weekend Food Backpack Program added 20 students at Sequim High School with organizers anticipating more likely to come.
In total, 150 students receive weekend meals with 50 also going to Helen Haller Elementary, 50 to Greywolf Elementary, 20 to the Boys & Girls Club and 10 to Sequim Middle School.
Pastor Jerry Luengen with the Sequim Valley Church of the Nazarene said they started the program last year delivering weekend meals to 13 Helen Haller Elementary students and this fall it expanded to 130.
“None of us knew how big it was going to be,” he said.
“It’s meeting a need and we’re still trying to figure out what the need is.”
On Thursdays, bags of food are delivered to each building and distributed anonymously on Fridays to students to take home. Bags offer two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and snacks. Contents are child-friendly for microwaving meals and include applesauce, granola bars, oatmeal, protein/cracker snacks, ravioli/spaghetti, juice boxes and milk.
On Wednesday nights, volunteers from the Nazarene Church, Sequim Valley Foursquare Church, Sequim Seventh-day Adventist Church and The King’s Way prepare bags for Greywolf Elementary and on Thursday mornings, Adventist Church volunteers prepare the other students’ bags.
The idea is to help students who may be coming to school hungry on Monday mornings.
“What teachers will tell you is that kids who haven’t eaten are useless for learning,” Luengen said.
“We’re going at a stopgap scenario to feed those who wouldn’t get any food. We feel Jesus Christ has called us to take care of the needs of the poor, especially those who can’t feed themselves.”
Luengen said they’ve received financial support from local organizations such as the Boeing Bluebills and the Sequim Elks. The Sequim Food Bank began coordinating on an administrative level this fall.
Andra Smith, executive director for the food bank, said counselors and teachers help them determine the children most in need of assistance for the program.
To optimize impact, she’s calculated that each bag per student costs about $7 per weekend, but she anticipates the program growing in numbers this year and next.
“If the school says we need 25 more, we’re going to do 25 more,” Smith said. “We’re going to make it work. With free/reduced lunch rates around 50 percent, there’s got to be more out there in need. Our mission is to make sure no one goes hungry, especially children.”
School input
Reaction to the program has been phenomenal, says Jennifer Van De Wege, liaison for the backpack program at Sequim High School.
“It’s one of the best cases I’ve seen between our service agencies and our schools working together,” she said. “This is a prime example of taking the service to the people rather than having them try to come to the service.”
One student at Greywolf was so grateful, she said, that the boy hugged his food saying he could help his family now.
“What an amazing gift to make him feel like he’s actively helping,” Van De Wege said.
She says another perk of the program allows students to remain anonymous among peers.
On Saturdays, teens staff the food bank, which may lead to awkwardness between volunteers and those in need, Van De Wege said. But the program allows students to continue volunteering and alleviates any pressure for students in-need by providing meals in advance while respecting their dignity, she said.
Free/reduced rates
Laurie Campen, Sequim Schools’ director of food services, said with the local economy down, people have been utilizing the free/reduced lunch program more.
In 2008, Sequim School District had 34.4 percent of its students in the program or 992 students out of 2,882. The most current count comes to 45.2 percent or 1,212 out of 2,678 students as of Feb. 1.
Earlier this school year the need was at a high-point of 50 percent (1,335 students out of 2,689) in October 2015.
Campen said that count represents last year’s numbers because families have until the middle of October to sign up for the program and they still are in the process of collecting current applications.
“Sometimes they don’t understand that they need to do this every year,” she said. “Also some families that did qualify last year for some reason do not qualify for this year (i.e. due to a change in income).”
As for a growing need in the backpack program, Van De Wege said she’s unsure if more are needed but after a few weeks at the high school it’s grown, too.
“The 50 kids at each of the elementary schools seems to be the maximum (capacity for the program) but we do know most of the needs are met but there are pockets that need help,” she said.
If interested, donors can support backpack meals for a student at $30 a month or $270 a year.
For more information on the Sequim Schools Weekend Food Backpack Program, contact the Sequim Food Bank, 144 W. Alder St., at 683-1205 or 461-6038. Reach Sequim Valley Church of the Nazarene, 481 Carlsborg Road, at 683-8642.
