Students no longer go hungry on weekends

Sometimes the only balanced meal a child receives is at school. That’s why Friends in Service Here, or FISH is working to provide meals for students on the weekend as well.

“When kids came to school on Monday morning and were very hungry they were either very sluggish or if they had a package of Oreos for breakfast they might be very hyper and be misdiagnosed as ADD,” said Dino Lowery, food coordinator for FISH. “When in reality they had just had a big sugar dump for breakfast. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that hungry children don’t learn well.”

Teachers will recognize where these “food insecure” children are and enroll them in the food program. Food is provided by the Idaho Food Bank. Volunteers deliver it each week. They discreetly bring in food for the students in backpacks to take home on the weekend. “Food insecure” doesn’t necessarily mean they are going hungry it means they aren’t getting a healthy, well-balanced meal. Last week FISH was able to provide weekend meals to 101 students in the area.

“One kid, when he got his first bag of food he was so excited,” Lowery said. “He thought he won food, he didn’t know it was going to be every week. He thought he won and was so excited. It was really cool.”

If you would like to help you can donate food to the Idaho Food Bank, or to become a volunteer call Dino Lowery at (208) 523-8742 .