SPRINGDALE -- Middle school students in Springdale who might go hungry on weekends won't have to anymore.
Representatives of the Samaritan Community Center, a nonprofit organization, announced a new program Wednesday called Mini Meals. The program will allow students to take home food on Friday if they have limited or no access to food on weekends, said Maxie Carpenter, director of operations for the center.
By The Number
Arkansas Hunger
• 19 percent: Percentage of people in Arkansas who are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from.
• 27 percent: Percentage of children in Arkansas who are food insecure.
• 25 percent: Percentage of children in Northwest Arkansas who deal with hunger.
Source: Staff Report
Students who have access to food and good nutrition are healthier, happier, less stressed and do better in school, said Debbie Rambo, executive director of the center. Higher levels of education can lead to less poverty in communities.
Many family situations can lead to children not having access to food on weekends, Rambo said.
"I don't think the majority of them are bad parents," she said. "They're just facing bad times."
The center already offers the SnackPacks for Kids program for elementary school students, but there was no program to serve middle school children, Carpenter said. The new program starts this week in the Springdale School District. It will expand to the Rogers School District next school year, Fayetteville during the 2016-2017 school year and the Bentonville School District during the 2017-2018 school year.
Springdale was chosen as the first school district for the program because it has a large percentage of students receiving free or reduced-cost meals, Rambo said. Ninety percent of students at J.O. Kelly Middle School receive free or reduced cost meals, said Sara Ford, principal.
Counselors and teachers at the middle schools will be responsible for identifying students to receive food from the program, Carpenter said.
"The counselors and the teachers know the kids," he said.
Counselors watch students eat while on lunch duty at Tyson Middle School, said Danielle Henderson, school counselor. Eating fast and eating everything in front of them are signs a child might not have adequate access to food at home.
Students also have advisory class first thing in the morning where they develop relationships with their teachers, Henderson said. Students sometimes will share details about their lives, such as a parent losing a job.
Mini Meals may help increase attendance, Rambo said. Schools usually have a higher number of students absent on Friday than any other day. Taking food home could help keep some students in school on Friday.
The center received $160,000 through grants and donations at Wednesday's announcement. Harps Foods, Bank of America and Endeavor Foundation donated money to the program.
The grants and donations will pay for the first two years of the program, Rambo said. Center representatives are working to find money for the following years.
The program will help local middle schools as long as the center can pay for it, Carpenter said.
NW News on 09/18/2014