I work at a Title I school in which over 90% of the students at my school receive free or reduced lunch. This means that the majority of our families live below the poverty line. Many of our families struggle to effectively feed and clothe their children.
Well, most of our students eat both breakfast and lunch at school, but once some of them leave the school building at 2:45 they don't eat another meal until they return to school the next morning. Usually this is because their families just can't afford to buy food to feed them. This becomes a huge issue over extended breaks like spring break.
As a teacher at this type of school I am always concerned about what my students will be eating when they aren't at school. I worry about some students whose families I know struggle with this issue.
Well, today I was able to help out with this situation. We had a teacher workday today. While I was at school, my principal made an announcement that someone had donated 4 meals complete with a ham, veggies, dinner rolls, other sides, and an apple pie. (The perfect Easter meal.) She asked if there were any families that we knew of that would benefit from these meals. I headed straight to the office because I had the perfect family in mind.
This family has been struggling all school year. There are four children in the family; a fifth grader, second grader, and 2 more that aren't yet in school. Grandma lives with the family to help with the younger kids while mom is at work. Unfortunately, dad is in the process of being deported. (The kids are struggling with this issue as well.). Mom is bringing in the only income to take care of this large family. Despite all of these difficulties, the two school aged children are the sweetest kids you will ever meet.
After I referred this family to my principal, she called mom and asked if she would like the donated food. She said yes and I volunteered to deliver the food. I was then led to het office and told to pick up as much food as I wanted to take. Not only was there the ham dinner but tons of canned foods as well. I grabbed two box and a shopping bag worth of canned goods and headed over to their house.
What I loved most about delivering the food was how gracious they were about receiving it. I know that this food is truly a blessing for them and they appreciated it greatly. I am so fortunate to be able to experience this. I only wish that I was able to give this gift to more of my families.
For the first 8 years of my teaching I worked at two schools like this. It can be emotionally draining because we worry so much about our students. Many of them do only get the free breakfast and lunch served at school, so what happens on weekends and summer? I'm so glad you were willing and able to do this for them and to receive as big a blessing as they did that day!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
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