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Backpack 68 Image

Backpack 68

Combatting weekend hunger so scholars can learn.

 

Feeding Scholars

"When I’m hungry in class, I usually just get really sleepy and just want to fall asleep on my desk,” shares a student at Collins Middle School in Salem.

“Hunger impacts a kid’s ability to learn in many ways, but mostly, kids that come to school that are hungry get distracted,” school Adjustment Counselor Marlene Lunt elaborates, “They don’t have the energy to participate. It makes it really difficult for them to learn overall.”

“There are 560 scholars that walk these halls daily,” says Principal Glenn Burns. “Before you can focus on just strictly academics, you have to make sure everybody’s basic needs are met and that starts with food.”

Each weekend the program provides food for 27 households in Salem through Collins Middle School.

Adjustment Counselor June Casale says, “We have one family here at the school, a sixth-grader and an eighth-grader. The brother shared during a family therapy session how important this program has been for them because he has been constantly worried about food. The backpack program has alleviated this one area of stress for the family.”

Due to poverty levels in Salem, all students receive free breakfast and lunch at school. But there are 68 hours between lunch on Friday and breakfast on Monday when many students go hungry.

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