KENMORE, N.Y. (WKBW) — 100 students across five Kenmore-Tonawanda schools are receiving help on weekends through a generous community effort called "Blessings in a Backpack."
Shawn O'Hargan, Ken-Ton Kiwanis president, started a local chapter of the national program to address what organizers call a "65-hour window" when students may not have access to food from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.
"The need has increased in the last couple of months," O'Hargan stated. "We've been planning this program for over a year."
The program targets the youngest students, who face the greatest challenges with weekend food access.
"We're talking the littlest of the children that we have in the Ken-Ton schools," Linda Colkitt said, a volunteer from the Church of Nativity in the Town of Tonawanda.
School social workers identify families who would benefit from the program, making sure resources reach those with the greatest need.
"These families were chosen by the social workers at each school who know the true need, and you know who can benefit from the program," O'Hargan said.
Every Wednesday, volunteers meet at Kenmore United Methodist Church to pack food bags with community donations. The bags are delivered to schools on Thursdays, where staff discreetly place them in students' backpacks to avoid any stigma.
WATCH: 'The need has increased': Volunteers pack meals for students facing food insecurity in Ken-Ton schools
Each bag contains items including fruit cups, yogurt, peanut butter and beef sticks for protein.
"The minimum we can put in are two protein items, two breakfast items and two healthy snacks," O'Hargan said.
The Church of Nativity has made the program its mission for November, collecting food and money.
"I was amazed," Colkitt said. "I've seen a load full of food, which will probably take at least two or three, maybe more cars to get it here."
For volunteers, the effort represents the responsibility to care for its youngest members.
"It's about doing," Colkitt said. "It's not just about talking. And so that's why I'm here, and that's why I'm packing."
Ryan Gleason, another volunteer, emphasized the community's obligation to address childhood hunger.
"If we are a community and kids in our community are going hungry, then we have failed," Gleason said. "So, this is an opportunity to fix one small corner."
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