Love Chapel Ministries has launched a weekly program called Cares Packs to provide supplemental food for the weekend for needy students at 11 Bartholomew Consolidated Schools Corp. elementary schools.
A total of 465 students received the first batch of nonperishable, no-preparation food on Friday, according to Kelly Daugherty, Love Chapel’s executive director. The food ranges from snack foods such as protein and vitamin bars to fresh fruit to pop-top macaroni and cheese and spaghetti that doesn’t even have to be microwaved, Daugherty said.
“Issues can be due to lack of family resources (for more food) or lack of parental time (to prepare food) that sometimes results in students not getting a whole lot on a weekend,” Daughtery said.
About 14 Busy Bees Academy students ages 3 and 4 will be added to the program on Friday. They will receive different food bags, according to Daugherty. The total number of students may vary slightly from week to week, he said.
The program will be funded with $30,000 for the school year with the cost split between private donors and the Love Chapel Foundation, established in 2009 to help the Christian nonprofit launch new programs such as this one. Previously, Gleaners Food Bank provided food for such students for more than a decade through its Backsacks program, which has been discontinued here and in other counties.
“Gleaners has been a huge at providing this kind of help,” said Brelyn Nolting, a Richards Elementary School counselor helping coordinate the Cares Packs program. “It was a great program. And we knew there was still a need.”
Nolting said she will remain in touch with teachers and parents to keep the program effective.
“This is going to be very good for the community,” Daugherty said.
He mentioned that the food is given discreetly to the students and inserted into their backpacks to avoid any embarrassment or discomfort about their predicament. Love Chapel has worked with teachers and others for about the past month to identify students and to work out the program’s details.
The idea for Love Chapel’s involvement originated from a conversation between a school counselor and a Love Chapel food and financial donor discussing student needs.
Laura Hack, director of elementary instruction, is pleased to see Love Chapel meet the local need.
“We are appreciative of a community that cares to meet the needs of our students, especially during these challenging times for families,” Hack said. “Community resources such as these help our students be more successful and achieve their academic, social, and emotional goals.”
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People can designate a financial donation to Love Chapel Ministries to support the Cares Packs programs.
Information: lovechapel-bartholomew.org
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