What happens when the school cafeteria closes on Friday—but a child still needs to eat all weekend? In this episode of the Hello Hello Podcast, Alyssa Rogers visits St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Clarksville, Virginia, to sit down with Dottie Thaxton and Rebecca Brooks and learn about the community effort behind Backpack Buddies. The program began after Dottie learned about a similar initiative serving food-insecure children. What started with the thought that Clarksville might be able to help 10 children quickly grew into a community-wide effort involving local churches, volunteers and schools. The first year, Backpack Buddies provided weekend food for approximately 50 elementary students. Today, that number has grown to nearly 80 elementary students each week, with additional support reaching middle and high school students. Each Friday, children receive bags filled with shelf-stable milk, juice, pasta, vegetables, fruit, cereal, ramen, mac and cheese, snacks and other foods to help carry them through the weekend. The group has even begun working toward providing food during the summer when students don't have access to school meals. But keeping the program going takes an entire community. It costs approximately $275 per year to provide one child's bags, and supporting close to 80 elementary students requires more than $22,000. Volunteers donate money, purchase food, pack hundreds of bags and deliver them to the schools every week. And there is a very important date to put on your calendar: October 10 | 4–7 PM The fourth annual Oktoberfest fundraiser will feature German food, beer and wine, music, a silent auction, raffle items and more—all while raising money and awareness for Backpack Buddies and Feeding Our Kids. Tickets are $25, with advance purchase encouraged. Because, as Dottie says in this episode: "Kids need to eat." And when a community comes together, we can make sure they do. Hello Hello is Powered by Rogers Heating & Cooling: www.callrogers.com
