One of Starkville’s most successful feeding programs can trace its roots to a deception.
A little over three years ago, a high school kid started turning up at after school tutoring program. What was unusual is that the student’s grades were good and did not appear to need the help being offered. Finally, when pressed, the student confessed: He had been coming not for help with school work, but for the snack, which was usually his supper for the day.
“It was then that we began to wonder if there were other students that weren’t getting meals, especially on the weekends,” said Susan Tomlinson, who is the volunteer coordinator for Starkville Backpack Buddies, which provides meals to students to take home on the weekends.
While students have access to free or reduced cost breakfasts and lunches at schools, some seemed to endure a weekend with little food.
With a quarter of the state’s population classified as “food insecure” (the highest rate in the nation), the need for meals has only grown over the years.
Through contact with the city’s school counselors, First United Methodist Church of Starkville began sending home meals with needy students three years ago. In the first year, the program served 35 third- and fourth-graders. Since then, the program has expanded to the four city schools, serving 130 students in grades K-8.
While the program started with FUMC, like many of the better programs, Starkville Backpack Buddies has become a truly collaborative effort, says Tomlinson, who estimates that roughly 200 people volunteer with the program in some capacity.
FUMC still coordinates and manages the program and other local groups have joined the effort. Tomlinson said it will cost $18,000 to provide food for the students through the end of the school year.
While FUMC still funds meals for fourth- and -fifth graders, the Junior Auxiliary funds the program for fifth-grade students while the Starkville Church of Christ provide the meals for 6-8 grades. Funds for K-2 come from grants, such as the one Anna Laurin Harrison and Lindsey Wilson provided Friday afternoon.
The two Mississippi State students are members of The MSU Student Dietetic Association. Each year, the group holds an “empty bowls” fund-raiser. Harrison, who had worked with a similar back-pack food program as a high school student in Ocean Springs, urged the group to make Backpack Buddies one of its two fund-raising recipients.
“It just made a lot of sense because one of the most important things for children that age is good nutrition,” Harrison said.
The students delivered a check for $832 to Tomlinson Friday afternoon.
A day earlier, the United Methodist Appalachain Ministry made a $1,500 donation.
Other groups are involved in the program, too. The Kiwanis Club provides fresh fruit to supplement the take-home meals while a local Girls Scout troop solicits donations at area grocery stores. Students from the Wesley Foundation at FUMC gather each week to pack the meals.
Tomlinson said the food is purchased from the Mississippi Food Bank at a cost of $5 per package. Each take-home package contains two breakfasts and two lunch/dinners. “They don’t require preparation; it’s something they can do for themselves if there isn’t an adult at home,” Tomlinson said. “They don’t have to been refrigerated or heated.”
Tomlinson said school officials have noticed that the program is making a difference. The students involved in the program miss fewer days due to sickness and are more attentive.
“It’s really hard to achieve anything if you’re hungry,” Tomlinson said. “That’s especially true for children.”
Tomlinson said she hopes the program will be expanded to high school students, although she’s not sure when that will happen.
To make a donation or volunteer, call First United Methodist Church at 662-323-5722.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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