101 Women awards grant to Food for Our Children

A program that provides food to local school children recently got a boost to their bottom line with a $10,000 grant from 101 Women, Sandpoint.

Food For Our Children, a local non-profit organization, won the grant award at 101 Women’s bi-annual membership meeting. The group received more votes than the other two finalists to bring home the $10,000 award.

“We are ecstatic to be the recipient of this generous grant,” said Michele Murphree, volunteer coordinator of Food for Our Children. “This money will be used to provide 2,500 children with bags full of shelf-stable food they can eat over the weekend when food scarcity is a real issue.”

According to Murphree, one in five children in Bonner County do not have access to sufficient food and over 50 percent of kids in the Lake Pend Oreille School District qualify for free or reduced meals at school.

With the lofty goal of ending childhood hunger in Bonner County, Food For Our Children is currently focusing on providing food for students to bring home from school over the weekend.

“We hear from teachers over and over again that students come back to school on Monday ravenous,” said Murphree. “We wanted to help bridge that gap between meals over the weekend.”

Last year, Food For Our Children was able to send out about 14,000 food-filled bags. The backpacks contain a variety of foods that do not require adult preparation.

Eventually, the group hopes to expand the program to include snacks during the school day as well as provide meals over holiday breaks and summer vacation.

The group currently operates with no paid staff and in cooperation with the Lake Pend Oreille School District, Bonner Community Food Bank, Bonner General Health, and Newport Hospital and Health Services Foundation.

The $10,000 grant to Food For Our Children is provided through the generous donations of 101 local women. 101 Women, Sandpoint was created to provide a simple and powerful way to leverage the modest giving of many into substantial funding for local groups. Two $10,000 grants are given out each year to Bonner County non-profit organizations. The group’s funding includes a wide focus area with only religious and political groups excluded.

The group meets twice a year to vote on the three finalists that emerge after a vetting process that includes grant application reviews and site visits.

The other two finalists at this fall grant cycle included the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint that is raising money for their Music Matters! program that provides after school orchestras, ensembles and choirs to any interested child in the greater Sandpoint community and the East Bonner County Library who is raising money for their expansion that will provide a designated space for programs offering hobby and skill development for area youth.

To learn more about Food For Our Children or to donate to the organization, go to their website at foodforourchildren.org or call 208-391-5277.

To learn more about 101 Women Sandpoint’s two other non-profit finalists or to donate to these organizations, go to their individual websites:

- Music Conservatory of Sandpoint – www.sandpointconservatory.org

- East Bonner County Library - www.ebonnerlibrary.org

To find out about upcoming 101 Women Sandpoint’s grant opportunities or to learn how to become a member, visit 101 Women Sandpoint’s website at www.101womensandpoint.com.