For many years, students in need in the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) have benefited from the Pantry Packs program’s food packs for weekends. Behind the program is an army of volunteers, operating as a grassroots organization and as one of Hopelink’s stability programs. For the next phase of the Pantry Packs’ growth, the program will transition to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation (LWSF) effective July 1.
The transition will allow Pantry Packs and LWSF to coordinate efforts that serve LWSD students. Hopelink will continue to provide support for Pantry Packs during the transition as part of its mission to serve families in the greater Eastside community.
“The perception on the Eastside is that there are no hungry students in LWSD. We know that is not the case,” said LWSF executive director Larry Wright. “We also know that without food, students are unable to concentrate, which affects their learning and growth. Lake Washington Schools Foundation is committed to helping students succeed at many levels on their journey from preschool to graduation. Pantry Packs is a vital program, addressing this unseen need in our district.”
Since the move to Hopelink in 2014, the Pantry Packs program grew from serving 450 students to currently serving almost 750 students each week during the 2016-17 school year. This growth is attributed to enrollment growth in the school district and greater awareness of the program among school personnel.
Counselors, teachers and other school personnel identify students in preschool through high school who may not be eating regularly on weekends and request Pantry Packs for their school; student identities remain confidential. School personnel discreetly distribute the packs to food-insecure students on Fridays.
Food is provided by donations of funds for bulk food purchases as well as volunteer-run food drives and individual food donations. To make the packs, Pantry Packs hosts monthly packing events at the Hopelink Kirkland warehouse. At these packing parties, packs of non-perishable, kid-friendly items are assembled by 50 volunteers, including families, teens, scout troops and school groups. Nearly 100 volunteers assist the program each month as drivers, packers and food collectors.
“The Pantry Packs program is, at its heart, a grassroots effort and dear to many in the district,” said Karyn Matveyenko, a member of the Pantry Packs volunteer leadership team, along with Marlene Vacknitz and Janice Wilson Vaché. “As the program has grown — with the support of organizations like Hopelink and now Lake Washington Schools Foundation — our team of volunteers can continue to help students that need it and make sure they have food for the weekends. Hunger doesn’t take the weekends off.”
Hopelink will continue to assist Pantry Packs with warehouse storage and packing event space for a period of time. The human service organization’s mission is to promote self-sufficiency for all members of the community and help people make lasting change.
Hopelink CEO Lauren Thomas said, “We know that food is an essential building block toward family stability and that consistent access to healthy food enables our low-income families to direct their limited resources toward other basic needs — such as heat, transportation and childcare – without worrying about whether their children have enough to eat. And we know that having nutritious food is essential to helping kids learn, thrive and grow into healthy adults. The Pantry Packs program does exactly that and is a real asset to all of our families in the community.”
This was taken from an LWSF press release.
