Bags packed to keep students fed

KOOTENAI — In the fight to keep Bonner County kids well-feed and healthy, volunteers are turning to an innovative new weapon — the backpack.

Every Wednesday afternoon, participants the Backpack Program meet up at Coldwater Creek’s headquarters to fill 102 backpacks with food items. Afterward, volunteers from Coldwater Creek and the Sandpoint High School National Honor Society deliver the stuffed packs to Washington and Northside elementary schools. Kids pick up their packs on Friday, the contents keeping them well-nourished until the next week of school begins.

Before the program started, that wasn’t always the case.

“We heard stories about kids stumbling into school Monday morning because they were starving,” said Suzanne Hayes, one of the program founders.

To prevent that problem, volunteers stuff backpacks with two breakfasts, lunches, dinners, drinks and snacks to use over the weekend. An affiliate of the Bonner Community Food Center and the national Feeding America initiative, the program uses the food bank’s purchasing power to acquire items but finances the process through its own grants and donations.

Although any child is welcome to participate in the program, kids in the free and reduced lunch program are specifically encouraged to sign up. Any worries that the kids receiving backpacks would earn unwelcome attention from their peers quickly dissipated.

“We were worried that there might be a stigma attached to the backpacks, but that wasn’t the case,” Hayes said. “The kids not in the program were wondering why they weren’t getting a backpack.”

When the program kids return to school on Monday, they bring their empty backpacks with them. The packs are sent back to Coldwater Creek headquarters for refilling and circulate once again on Friday. Teachers reported that the day was a highlight of the week for kids.

“One little girl said, ‘I love backpack Fridays, because we go home and our cupboards are full,’” Amanda Hayes, Suzanne’s daughter and a program co-founder, said.

Mother-daughter teamwork proved instrumental in establishing the program in March 2010. Amanda learned through her aunt that a similar program operated in the school district of Lincoln, Neb. She and Suzanne were surprised that nothing similar existed in Bonner County. After approaching Bonner Community Food Center officials with their idea, they quickly developed a program.

“We thought it was a great idea for the community, and it all came together very quickly,” Suzanne said. “The food bank has been wonderful in helping us and giving us their expertise.”

Initially, the backpack filling occurred in a small room at the food center. But as the effort expanded in scope, volunteers required more space.

“Thankfully, Coldwater Creek was kind enough to offer us a space here,” Hayes said.

 Just in time, too, because the Backpack Program is set to expand yet again. Kootenai Elementary will join into the program in the next couple of weeks, adding 100 students to the backpack circulation.

That growth will require increased support from the community. With a 300-backpack donation from The Gap last summer and solid donations from local organizations and individuals, the Hayes are pleased with the county’s response. But there’s always a need for more funding.

“We go through a lot of food,” Hayes said. “And once we add Kootenai Elementary, it’s going to double.

Each backpack costs $5 to fill every week, totaling to $250 for the entire school year. To sponsor a child, call the Bonner Community Food Center at 263-3663 and ask about the Backpack Program.