Hungry children helped by variety of Warren County programs

Friday N ovember 20, 2009
By SARAH M. WOJCIK
The Express-Times

PHILLIPSBURG | Amid the excitement of early dismissal, Phillipsburg students this week grabbed a bagged lunch before scrambling to the bus.

The simple service, new this school year, provides some kindergarteners through eighth-graders with their only nutritious meal of the day, organizers say.

In the past, a shortened school day meant no lunch period -- and, too often, no lunch.

The initiative by Phillipsburg School District's food service provider, Sodexo, is not the only local effort to keep students fed.

A NORWESCAP program expanding from Phillipsburg to other Warren County schools sends students home for the weekend with a backpack's worth of nourishment.

Donna Garr, general manager for Sodexo, said she identified the need for early dismissal lunches "as soon as I came to Phillipsburg.

"I need to make sure these kids have proper nutrition," Garr said.

Administrators were immediately supportive of the program.

"It was almost like a no-brainer," Phillipsburg Superintendent Mark B. Miller said. "If the kids have food, they'll do better in school."

Sent home early due to parent-teacher conferences Monday through Thursday, 880 students snagged the brown-bag lunches, Garr said.

"This is now the protocol for the Phillipsburg School District," Garr said. "The children will be fed on early dismissal days."

Filling in the gaps

Four years ago, workers at NORWESCAP's Food Bank, 201 N. Broad St., Phillipsburg, also noticed when school's out that some children were not eating.

"We knew that for some there was probably not enough food in their household to sustain them through the weekend," food bank Director Helene Meissner said.

And so began the Backpack Program, one of the first programs sponsored directly by the agency that's official name is the Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program Inc.

Humble at first, the program served 12 students at Freeman Elementary School -- sending them home with a backpack full of food for the weekend.

Since 2006, it's ballooned.

Now every Phillipsburg elementary school participates along with a growing number of other schools throughout Warren County -- including facilities in Alpha, Hackettstown and the townships of Franklin and Lopatcong.

Students who qualify for the program are identified by school officials and must have parental permission before the food-filled bags are sent home.

This year, 150 students are being served. Meissner believes with the addition of other schools, the number will surpass 200 by the end of the school year.

"It's just taken on a life of its own," she said.

Support grows with need

Support for the backpack program has grown with equal intensity.

The United Way of Warren County has designated the backpack program as its signature cause and is now the lead funding source. Sodexo food service has also pledged to provide funding for the program.

Sarah Brelvi, president and CEO of the United Way of Warren County, said the program is a perfect example of the United Way's goals for the community.

"It focuses their attention on the fact that they take for granted that when kids aren't in school that they are able to receive the proper nutrition," she said.

Brelvi says even children have stepped up to help their peers. A Mansfield Township Brownie Troop collected Halloween candy to include as an extra treat in the backpacks during the Halloween weekend, she said.

"People really do love this program," Meissner said. "It kind of tugs at the heart strings."

But there are still plenty more to serve, Brelvi said.

"It's my vision and my goal to have all of Warren County in this program," she said.