“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than how it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela
KENTON COUNTY – On Friday he picked up his bag from the school office and put it in his backpack. Now he would have something to eat until breakfast at school on Monday.
The adults in his home were incapable of providing food for themselves or for him. Then one Friday, one of the adults opened the backpack and saw the bag. Food. The adults were hungry, too.
There would be no food for him that weekend.
The next Friday, he hid the backpack under his bed. He knew hunger all too well.
When one of the adults died of overdose, he told the Family Resource Coordinator he would save opening the backpack food bag until after the funeral that weekend. He liked the surprise of it, the treats…and obviously the comfort of it.
Eventually, one of the adults in the home was guided to Action Ministries’ food pantry program and the family became clients. But the backpack food from Food for Thought, a program of Action Ministries, continued to be his anchor for the weekend.
Then, five cousins were added to the household. Their parent had been incarcerated. The children were homeless without the relatives adding them to their home. But that meant five more hungry people.
When those children were enrolled in the school, the Family Resource Coordinator (FRC) at the school notified the Food for Thought office and Friday, five additional bags of food went into backpacks.
The youngest of the cousins was small, very shy, wanting to be invisible, absorbed in the group of siblings. No emotion registering.
Several weeks later as the school bus delivered the children to school on Monday, the group passed by the Family Resource Coordinator as they entered the building. Suddenly, the FRC looked down to see the youngest cousin giving her a huge hug, along with eye contact and a wide smile.
No words needed. Tears blinked back.
• • • •
This account is a composite with variations of the information shared from the FRCs in the Kenton County School District to the Action Ministries’ Food for Thought Program, which provides backpack food to students for the weekend. The program is completely run by volunteers. Confidentiality must be guaranteed and protected in all quarters.
The true stories are hard to hear, harder to carry.
They speak of the reality of childhood hunger and desperate living conditions in our midst — and not a new issue.
Action Ministries’ Food for Thought program began in 2008 with three schools of the Kenton County School District and 20 bags of food. Today sixteen of those schools are involved in the program, elementary through high school. 323 bags are prepared and picked up each week…an increase of 14% over last year.
School personnel identify students in need. The bags are available without questions or requirements. FRCs pick up the backpack-sized bags of shelf-stable foods and have them ready each Friday for the students to retrieve.
Of course, folks wonder what might go into such bags. Here’s the list of current items: two cans of Chef Boyardee with pop-top lids, two servings of fruit juice, one serving of shelf-stable milk, two individual size boxes of cereal, two cups of applesauce, three small Slim Jims, one granola bar, one package of trail mix, one Cow Tale candy — and a flyer encouraging the family to visit Action Ministries for more help for the whole family. All items have ample “use by” dates.
Action Ministries is 100% volunteer with funding from a broad range of foundations, fiscal courts, churches, fellowship/community organizations, food drives and food donations, and individuals.
Action Ministries, 4375 Boron Drive, Covington, 41015. exdir3649@yahoo.com
There are a number of food pantries in Northern Kentucky supporting families and school children.
The need is great and ever-increasing…and is right here.
Judy Harris is well established in Northern Kentucky life, as a longtime elementary and university educator. A graduate of Thomas More, she began her career there in 1980 where she played a key role in teacher education and introduced students to national and international travel experiences. She has traveled and studied extensively abroad. She enjoys retirement yet stays in daily contact with university students. Reach her at judyharris1579@gmail.com