Conference Report #1: Food Back Pack Program

With all the time we spend focused on Loudoun County's challenges, sometimes it is helpful to get perspective by considering the challenges that Virginia's small rural school districts face.

Northwood Middle School in Smyth County serves a very impoverished student population. Six times as many families live below the poverty line as in Loudoun County. Over half of the Middle School's 200 students receive free or reduced-price meals from school, and for many of them, those are the only good meals that they eat. Students frequently come to school on Monday morning and ask for two breakfast servings because they've had little more than soda and chips all weekend. Sports teams competing on the weekend are fed prior to games to ensure that they've eaten that day.

Nearly three years ago, school counselor Betty Webb instituted the Food Back Pack program in response. It is an attempt to help the poorest students get good nutrition over the weekend when they're away from the school cafeterias. Local charities donate backbpacks and foods. Peanut butter and crackers are a staple. Canned foods and juices are also common. During the week, the school's Work and Family Studies classes work on an assembly line to fill the backpacks. On Friday afternoons, students pick up the backpacks on their way out the door and return them empty the next week to repeat the process. The cost of the program is $20,000 to serve over 40% of the student population for the year. Over 60% of last year's sixth grade class participated.

Through one program requiring no new employees and little administrative overhead, children get a backpack full of food every weekend at a cost of about six dollars each. Students are involved not only as recipients but as volunteers. This is a good example of how schools sometimes get involved in more than just the three Rs and in the process save the community a lot of money. Schools are often best able to identify and assist chidren because that's where children spend most of their time when they aren't with their own families.