Write a commentOne year later, the BackPack Program at Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Central School District is sending more than 100 students in the District home with backpacks full of food every week.
Staff at the APW District saw a need last year; with money being tight in some homes, students were coming to school on Monday mornings hungry.
Eager to help, APW School Lunch Manager Bonnie Horning started the BackPack program with the help of fellow APW staff members, an initiative that sends food home with children of families in need on the weekends. Their slogan, “No Child Should Be Left Hungry.”
Participant families are referred to existing programs for which they may be eligible in an attempt to transition the student from the BackPack Program to other resources (i.e. Reduced or Free Lunch Program, Food Stamps, Food Pantries, etc.).
Horning says the support from staff, the community and fellow students has been overwhelming. As the donations continue to pour in, the space in which the food is stored has grown to an entire classroom. Several students in the District assist in sorting.
As word has spread, several local organizations have donated to the cause this past year.
The Clubhouse Tavern of Oswego recently coordinated a charitable fundraising event, and attendees were asked to bring non-perishable food items for donation to the United Way of Greater Oswego County as an effort to end hunger in our community; the food collection was received by Altmar-Parish-Williamstown Central School District’s BackPack Program.
This “Night of Drinking and Dancing” was coordinated by Robert and Liz McGrath, owners of The Clubhouse Tavern, and the evening took place at the American Foundry in Oswego. The Executive Director of the United Way of Greater Oswego County, Patrick Dewine, said he was delighted to see the numerous donated food items pile up as guests arrived. A total of 203.5 pounds of food was collected.
Also recently, the Pulaski Turkey Trot brought in 244 pounds of food as well as $300 towards the program, the Central Square Wal-Mart collected donations for the months of November and December and received more than 97 pounds of food from their location and 117.5 pounds of food was collected from the Parish Public Library.
The District would also like to thank the following for their kindness, help and contributions over the past year: Williamstown VFW Post 136, Friends of the Parish Library, the Gristmill Restaurant in Parish, the United Methodist Church in Dugway, the Pulaski Library, the Williamstown Library, Tops in Pulaski, Price Chopper in Clay, Wegmans, Nice N Easy, the National Junior Honor Society and the many generous APW faculty, parents and students who make the BackPack Program possible every week.
Lastly, the APW National Junior Honor Society donated close to 200 pounds of food to the BackPack Program. NJHS coordinates a food drive annually. Students of the club said that it felt great to do something good for their peers. The amount of food donated will cover approximately a week and a half of the BackPack Program’s needs. Grade levels made a competition out of it to see who would donate the most. The eighth grade class proved victorious bringing in 121 pounds of food.
With the growing number of students in the program, Horning hopes that support will continue even after the holiday season. Those who are interested in donating to the BackPack Program may leave items at the school located at 639 County Route 22 Parish, NY. For more information, please contact Bonnie Horning, APW School Lunch Manager, at (315) 625-5227, or Anita Murphy, APW Superintendent of Schools, at (315) 625-5251.
Examples of food to donate to the BackPack Program include: peanut butter, pasta, canned tuna, soups, macaroni and cheese, cereal, oatmeal, granola bars, crackers, shelf-stable milk, pudding cups, 100 percent juice boxes, applesauce, fruit cups, raisins and all small canned vegetables.
