Feeding a need: Raven Packs provides food for hundreds of Ravenna kids on weekends, breaks

As it approaches its fifth anniversary next month, the volunteers of Raven Packs have seen that the help they give to Ravenna school students with food insecurity is needed more than ever.

"Our numbers have increased since the pandemic," Raven Packs Vice President Rebecca Schneider said.

During the school year, volunteers gather at Portage Community Chapel, 6490 state Route 14 in Ravenna, to fill hundreds of packs containing food for students in need to take home on weekends and breaks during the school year. Volunteer transportation teams take the packs to schools for distribution.

Raven Packs Treasurer Laura Wunderle said although the number of packs can vary according to the need at the time, Raven Packs currently has 480 students signed up, much higher than what it started with during the 2018-19 school year.

"Our initial group of students was 255 at our original packings, and we've kind of gradually grown since then to where we are now," she said.

Wunderle said some of this could be due to a rising need, especially since the pandemic. And more help may be needed after a pandemic-related funding increase to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) ended in March.

"We're anticipating that we may see that. We haven't seen it happen directly, yet," she said.

But some of the rise in students receiving help could be because Raven Packs has just become better known over time.

"Our staff in the district, they do the primary identification of students based on their knowledge of the need and families," Wunderle said. "But we have had families reach out to us directly."

Ravenna food program started with recognizing a need

Wunderle was one of several founders of Raven Packs in June 2018. Schneider joined a couple of months later.

Wunderle said the idea to form an organization began when school staff came forward with concerns about students telling them they weren't eating well at home during weekends and breaks.

"One of our elementary guidance counselors and an intervention specialist recognized this need in the elementary schools and wanted to do something about it," she said.

In some cases, said Wunderle, students would tell staff providing them with extra academic help that they hadn't eaten much at home. Students would even say they preferred being in school because the district provides free breakfasts and lunches on school days.

"The goal is for the community to see this need, which is apparent, and then to meet it," said Wunderle. "We like the idea of being hands-on here in our home community and serving the kids who are here."

Making food accessible

Most of the students getting packs are in prekindergarten through fifth grade, but all special education students in the district's Education Alternative program, which is all grades, can get them if needed.

"So we do have some older students who receive them there as well," said Wunderle.

In some cases, Raven Packs knows the family income of students in the program, but the primary criterion for deciding if a student needs help is whether he or she is coming to school hungry, for whatever reason.

"We work really closely with our counselors in the district and intervention specialists who tend to see more of those students," said Wunderle.

Some families, for example, may be facing some sudden situation that is causing financial difficulties.

"So we use the term food insecure a lot, just because there are a lot of reasons that you could be food insecure," said Wunderle.

Volunteer packing sessions generally take place every two weeks, on Thursday mornings, though that can vary. The last one for this school year is May 18 at 9 a.m.

Schneider said volunteers, and even their children, have sometimes chosen what goes into the packs. Items tend to be simple and easy to fix, such as soup, cereal, oatmeal and snacks. A bag for a two-day weekend typically contains about 15 items, while longer breaks would have more, Wunderle said.

"We really try to focus on items that are accessible and usable to children so that if they have adults in their life who aren't providing for them, well, they have the opportunity to still access that food with or without adult support," said Wunderle.

In addition to the take-home packs, Raven Packs also started providing snacks for classrooms several years ago after organizers learned teachers were paying for snacks out of their own pockets for some students.

Generally, Raven Packs does not do any packing during the summer, though there were a couple of summers when federal grants allowed for it or pandemic money was available through the free breakfast and lunch program for a summer distribution.

Schneider, however, said Raven Packs stays active during those months, showing up at events like Ravenna Rocks to boost awareness.

Volunteers needed

Wunderle estimated that packing events typically draw around 20 to 35 volunteers. At one packing session this school year, students from a Ravenna High School honors civics class volunteered.

"Which was a really neat connection again with the community focus of Raven packs. We love making those connections," said Wunderle.

To volunteer, contact Raven Packs online at www.ravenpacks.com or through its Facebook page, which includes signup links for packing events. Raven Packs can also be contacted by email at k5ravenpacks@gmail.com.

Support comes from various sources

Schneider said some of the food is purchased from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

"We also get it from community partners and local businesses," she said. "We have a lot of community partners. We have churches that help collect certain food items."

Raven Packs also raises money through various means. There will be a big fundraising event at West Main St. Winery, Brewery & Cider House, 234 W. Main St. in Ravenna, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. May 17.

"This will be our third annual fundraising event at the West Main St. Winery, and a lot of people look forward to it," said Schneider.

Event tickets are $20, and 50/50 raffle tickets are six for $5; 15 for $10; and 35 for $20. Pay at the door. Entry includes three raffle tickets and a drink ticket. Cash, check and payments via payment app Venmo are accepted. Raffle winners need not be present.

Schneider said Raven Packs has also held other fundraisers, sold T-shirts, mainly to volunteers, and is considering bringing back a pancake breakfast.

"That was one of our big fall things that we did prior to the pandemic," she said. "We haven't done it since then, but we would like to revisit that. We would do that at the VFW, and it was a pretty good moneymaker for Raven Packs."

People can also donate money to Raven Packs. Mail checks to Raven Packs, P.O. Box 728 , Ravenna, OH 44266. Donations can also be made through Facebook and Venmo.

Raven Packs is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Creating benches from recycled plastic

An offshoot project for Raven Packs is recycling soft plastic, whether plastic that food comes wrapped in or that students bring to school from home.

Schneider said the plastic can be converted into benches to be distributed around the district. The first bench is at the Chestnut Hills Park playground.

She said it takes time to collect the 500 pounds of plastic needed for each bench, so the goal is to create one every six months. After the school year's final packing event is over, there should be at least close to the required amount.

"Once we get all of that plastic from there, we should be well on our way to our second bench," she said.

Wunderle and Schneider said their involvement with Raven Packs has been rewarding. Schneider said the camaraderie and relationships by themselves have been worthwhile.

"There's a lot of amazing volunteers, and I love to do this because I have reconnected with old neighbors from the neighborhood I grew up in, teachers that I had in middle school and high school," she said. "So it's a lot of fun to see all these people, plus I've also made new friendships and new connections. So really a lot of fun."

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Raven Packs provides food for Ravenna schools students to take home