Food For Our Children expands

SANDPOINT — When the cause is right, coalitions form and things get done. Just ask a group called Food For Our Children, a local non-profit that works to provide weekend food for local students who otherwise would go without.

Their message has had such resonance that, on the heels of strong, initial success, the organization now has announced that new supporters have stepped in to add to the momentum.

“Some of the groups around the community are really getting behind the idea that kids in Bonner County should not go hungry,” said FFOC founder Dennis Pence.

Launched just one year ago, the organization has broadened the impact of an existing food “backpack program” administered by the Bonner Community Food Bank and appealed to donors to help make it a countywide initiative. The result was a 300 percent leap in the program at the start of this school year, as the number of students receiving food aid jumped to more than 415 kids.

As of this month, that number has climbed even higher, thanks to funding from Litehouse Foods, Inc., Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2453, and an expanded financial commitment from Bonner General Health, which already had given $25,000 last fall.

“BGH already serves students at Sandpoint Middle School and is pleased to now also serve students at Lake Pend Oreille Alternative High School,” said Terri Fortner, community development and foundation executive director for Bonner General Health.

Geoff Penrose, principal at Lake Pend Oreille High School, said the BGH donation answers a need at his school.

“Depending on the year, we’re running from 75-95 percent for students on free or reduced lunch,” he said. “They come to school hungry often, which affects their ability to learn. Bonner General Health has stepped up and helped us out — and those food bags are wildly popular.”

A similar reaction was found at Hope Elementary School, where approximately 30 percent of the student population now takes part in the program, thanks to funding from Litehouse Foods.

“It does make a difference for many of our students,” said Hope Elementary Principal Sherri Hatley. “There is much excitement on Fridays when the students get their bags to take home. We’ve been very careful about preserving the confidentiality of which students participate in the program. However, its not uncommon for a student to stop in the office on Friday morning to check and make sure the food is here and ready to go home at the end of the day. It always is, but they still check.”

For Litehouse, funding the program at Hope had ethical and historical connections.

“One of our core guiding principles is stewardship and giving back — serving our community is a belief and foundation of the company,” said Lesa Niemela, vice president of human resources. “We consider providing food for our community and our children a privilege.

“Litehouse was originally founded in Hope as a family owned restaurant and having the opportunity to support the local community where the company originated resonated as a special opportunity for us,” she added.

Although he welcomed all the new donors with open arms, Pence seemed particularly moved by the overture from VFW Post #2453 to fund weekend food for students at Southside Elementary School.

“They felt like this was something they could get behind in a big way,” the FFOC founder said. “They’ve already given as veterans. The fact that they want to give more is tremendous.”

According to Mike Harmelin, post commander, many veterans, for various reasons, are now raising their grandkids, which makes supporting FFOC an avenue for taking care of those who have served.

“Our focus is to help veterans in need and a lot of them are just too proud to ask for help,” Harmelin said. “This is a way to directly help kids with food and also help their parents and grandparents.

“It’s nice to know that Southside is going to be covered for the rest of this year and all of next school year,” he added, noting that the post’s donation comes from fundraisers such as its weekly bingo games, hosted by Davida Rafferty — otherwise known as Our Lady of Bingo. “Kids can’t learn when they’re hungry. They’re thinking more about their stomach growling than they are about school.”

At Farmin-Stidwell Elementary, where FFOC has been active since the group’s inception, about 125 food bags are sent home every weekend, said Title I teacher and program volunteer Mac Hollan. He is assisted in the weekly deliveries by retired Farmin-Stidwell teachers Pauline Delamarter, Andy Berliner, Debi Butler and Pat Ekwortzel.

“It covers pretty much one-quarter of the school,” he said. “The younger kids get super excited when we come around, because now they have enough food and it’s stuff they like.”

When Food For Our Children was founded one year ago, the existing program administered by the food bank had only enough funding to serve three elementary schools in the Lake Pend Oreille School District. With the expanded presence and new funding, it currently serves all but two elementaries — Washington and Sagle — as well as providing food bags for Sandpoint Head Start, Sandpoint Middle School and Lake Pend Oreille High School.

In each case, students receive bags containing single-serving portions that require no cooking. This school year, the organization worked to increase the amount of protein in every bag, as well as boost the number of calories for older students.

Beyond that, FFOC has reached out to partner with the Newport Hospital Foundation for its “SnackPack” program in the West Bonner County School District.

Despite major strides in a relatively short period of time, Pence is reminded of the organization’s original vision — that no child in Bonner County goes hungry.

“This is something where we’ve just begun to scratch the surface,” he said. “We were unable to fund all the schools for the 2016-17 school year. My hope is that, with the help of these partners and the community at large, we’ll be able to fund the whole school community — including west Bonner County.”

Information: Food For Our Children, www.foodforourchildren.org