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Filling backpacks to end hunger

Bend woman helps local students focus on learning, not food

By Alandra Johnson / The Bulletin

Published: August 21. 2009 4:00AM PST

By chance this spring, Bend resident Amy Fraley overheard a few teachers talking about a problem they faced. Students returned from school vacation hungry, making it tough for them to focus on learning. Many children receive free or reduced-priced breakfasts or lunches at school, but for some students, these are the most reliable meals they eat.

“You can’t learn if you’re hungry,” Fraley said.

When Fraley heard these teachers talking, she thought about a program she had read about that she believes could help with this problem. In just a few short months, Fraley was able to put together a local effort to help children in Bend-La Pine Schools eat healthy foods while they are away from school.

BackPacks in Bend will provide a backpack full of nutritious food for children living in food-insecure homes for them to take home during a weekend or break. Each child in the program will receive a backpack filled with food each week of the school year. The goal is to make the food donations discreet by providing them in backpacks.

Fraley received help and support from Nativity Lutheran Church and members of her family. The group is working with Family Access Network in local schools to identify the children who would most benefit from the program.

BackPacks in Bend is going to start out small, with just 25 backpacks going out each week, distributed among five elementary schools. The schools are being selected based on the percentage of students at each school who are receiving free or discounted lunches as well as the number of homeless students. Fraley has been working with people from Bend-La Pine Schools, including Dana Arnston, the director of federal programs, who is helping the group connect with schools.

“I think it’s amazing,” Arnston said. She imagines they will easily be able to find 25 students who would need to use the program. In addition to a few elementary schools in Bend, the group will also deliver a few backpacks to La Pine Elementary through the district’s mail service.

“I applaud Amy and her group for taking this on. There is a huge need,” Arnston said.

The packs will contain food from all the food groups except dairy. Some items likely to be included are stews, canned tuna, peanut butter, fruit cups, pasta meals, cereal bars and more. Volunteers are also trying to keep the packs relatively light so students won’t struggle to carry the extra weight. The program is free to participating families.

The middle-school-age youth group at Nativity Lutheran Church is helping pack the backpacks each week. Fraley’s children are also chipping in to help.

Fraley will buy the items each week. She received numerous private donations to help fund the program. She estimates it will cost $700 to provide food for one child for one year. That cost covers food, several backpacks and mileage costs for volunteers. Children are supposed to return the backpacks to the school after each weekend or break to be refilled for the following week. But organizers are assuming the children will run through more than one backpack over the course of a year.

Alandra Johnson can be reached at 541-617-7860 or at ajohnson@bendbulletin.com.

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