Feeding the need: Lubbock area schools, organizations join forces against childhood hunger

What started 12 years ago as a collaboration between churches and community organizations to help students who face food insecurities has grown into a program that this year alone is helping 509 students in Frenship ISD, along with their families.

FISD Superintendent Michelle McCord said their "Tiger Bites" program aims to give students nutritious food for easy meals and snacks students can make at home themselves over the winter break.

The Frenship program is among numerous efforts around Lubbock and the South Plains to help children and others who face food insecurity during the holiday season and throughout the season.

Tiger Bites at Frenship

The backpacks given to students contain peanut butter, jelly, mac' n' cheese, crackers, granola bars, shelf-stable milk, and other meals and snacks.

McCord said the school district does this to help ease some of the burdens parents might face during the holiday season - from dealing with illnesses to having to buy Christmas gifts on top of ordinary expenses.

"At school, we feed many of our students breakfast and lunch for free and they're at home for two weeks and so there's two meals every day that they're not getting at school," she said.

McCord said FISD serves almost 12,000 students, with over 50% of them qualifying for the federal lunch program.

FISD also partners with other community partners throughout the year to help those who face food insecurity.

"South Plains Food Bank lets families know about us, and we let families know about them," McCord said.

UMC giving back to students

Lubbock ISD's Brown Elementary received 125 sacks of food from UMC Health System this past week — marking the 15th anniversary of the partnership between UMC and the school.

“Food insecurity is one of the primary social determinants of health. A lack of appropriate food impacts all aspects of a person’s overall physical and mental health,” said Kristi Duske, senior vice president & chief legal officer. “UMC values its role in the community as a partner for those in need, and its employees prioritize service as their passion.”

The bags contained peanut butter, jelly, bread, Vienna sausage, pop-tarts, Capri-sun drink pouches, chips, pudding cups or fruit cups, snack crackers, granola bars and additional snack items.

"We're incredibly thankful for UMC's longtime support of Lubbock ISD and Brown Elementary School," said LISD Superintendent Kathy Rollo. "As a valued Partner in Education, UMC has been a vital piece of connecting our schools with the Lubbock community."

Even though the Lubbock community and ISDs are helping students and their families for the holiday, food insecurity among youth is a year-round epidemic in the nation.

South Plains Food Bank

Across the United States, 44 million people face food insecurity, with 1 in 5 children facing hunger or not having access to healthy food, according to Feeding America.

Organizations like the South Plains Food Bank help combat this public health crisis in West Texas.

"For the full year, we're feeding about 85,000 to 90,000 families right now from January up to November," said Vanessa Morelion, director of community impact for the South Plains Food Bank.

However, during December, Morelion said the food bank sees an increase in those needing help, which she predicts will send the food bank's total to 100,000 families helped this year alone.

Morelion said this is nowhere near the 150,000 families the food bank was helping during the COVID-19 pandemic, but added that the need is still great.

One way the food bank is helping combat youth food insecurity is through the Kid's Cafe Program.

"We make hot meals here in our kitchen and we deliver those to the Boys and Girls clubs and they are able to serve the kids a hot meal for dinner," Morelion said.

They do this because local school districts will help serve kids breakfast, lunch or both.

"This is just another way that we're able to fill the gap for families whose parents work two or three jobs and they aren't able to put a good meal on the table because they're at work or they just the prices of groceries are high," Morelion said.

She said the program feeds around 2,500 kids a week during the school year. The food bank also offers holiday boxes for families, which include dry food, frozen food, and holiday-specific foods.

If families are in need of food assistance, Morelion said the food bank's application opens on Jan. 1, 2024, at www.spfb.org/get-help/.

For those who wish to donate to the food bank, donations can made through spfb.org/donate.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock area schools, organizations partner against childhood hunger