Families receive extra supplement for local children
While the Hollister School District is offering free lunch and
breakfast for kids 18 and under during the summer months, the
Community Food Bank is also looking at ways to make sure children
don’t go hungry when school is not in session.
Families receive extra supplement for local children
While the Hollister School District is offering free lunch and breakfast for kids 18 and under during the summer months, the Community Food Bank is also looking at ways to make sure children don’t go hungry when school is not in session.
During the school year, the Community Food Bank runs a backpack program, where kids can pick up a backpack full of healthy, kid-friendly snacks on Fridays and return it on Monday.
“Just yesterday we had a staff meeting,” Hughes said on June 2. “What we have done in the past for clients is those that have kids will continue to get extra bags…in addition to the regular groceries for the families overall.”
Hughes estimated that the Food Bank could give out about 500 kids’ bags a week.
“We won’t be able to cover every kid,” she said. “If a family has three kids, maybe we give them two kids’ bags. We are still working out the logistics, but we will incorporate it into our weekly backpack making routine.”
During the school year, the backpacks contain shelf-stable items that can sit at school for a week, such as peanut butter, canned tuna, oatmeal and crackers.
“We try to have things they can eat or make a sandwich without parents having to cook,” Hughes said. “It is shelf-stable and stuff they don’t have to cook.”
For the summer, Hughes said they will include some fresh fruits and vegetables.
“The ones we make here, we might be able to do that because we are handing it out right away,” she said. “It should help them get through the summer.”
