The reality of hunger is a daily challenge for students in our region. During weekends and school breaks, the problem is compounded as children do not have access to breakfast and lunch at school. To address this, schools partner with community groups to supply students facing hunger at home with backpacks of food to help them through a weekend or longer school break.
During December, PACE Partner Inland Power and Light “adopted” the Snowden Elementary School program Bites to Go to help fill the backpacks of 100 students before Winter Break. Snowden is part of Cheney Public Schools, a founding member of the West Plains Chapter.
Central Valley School District, a PACE partner and founding member of the Spokane Valley chapter, also focused efforts on providing for students in need. Staff members of the district office donated time, money, and auction items to raise funds to support the Food 4 Thought backpack program. Over $2,500 was raised, which translates into backpacks of weekend food to feed 20 students for an entire year.
We applaud the efforts of these PACE partners. They demonstrated the December character of trait of Caring and had, and will continue to have, a very real impact on the students and families in their communities.
