SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
Five schools in the Sioux City area participate in the Food Bank of Siouxland's "BackPack" program, which aims at fighting hunger by giving students snacks for the weekend.
Liberty Elementary is one of the schools participating in the program, with over 88% of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunches.
Today, its students are doing what they can, to help those in need.
About 79%, that's the fraction of students at Liberty Elementary School who take part in Food Bank of Siouxland's "BackPack" program week after week.
With such a high number of students to feed at Liberty alone, there's always need for help.
And who better to assist than Liberty Elementary students themselves.
It's healthy for over the weekend," said Ethan Brown, 5th grader.
"These snack packs they're filling today could end up at Liberty and we try to teach the kids that it's O.K. to get help. Everyone needs help at some point in their life, but it's also important to help others," said Jody Vanderloo, Liberty Elementary School Administration Manager.
They're packing the bags with anything from pudding, to juice boxes, even beef jerky.
It'll give program participants at least a little food to snack on over the weekend, since some of them don't have anything else to eat until they get back to school on Monday.
"If you come to school on Monday morning and you haven't eaten, you are not going to be able to sit down in that desk and think and focus and listen and learn and do all the things that we want you to do and to take advantage of that educational opportunity," said Linda Scheid, Food Bank of Siouxland.
It's a sad situation that some in our community don't realize and others choose to forget.
"We're really talking a lot now about the face of hunger because you don't know who it is. It could be the person that lives across the hall from you, lives across the street from you, is riding in the elevator with you. it's people who work but don't have enough money to buy enough food," said Scheid.
That's why Liberty Elementary's administration manager says there's a cry for help, and volunteering even a small amount of time and money can go a long way in the effort to feed those in need.
"Not only are students giving their time, but our staff is also helping to contribute financially to whatever we can do for this great program," said Vanderloo.
Learning from kids who are helping pack up hunger, one drop at a time.
Although a large portion of students at Liberty Elementary School students qualify for free and reduced lunches, Irving Elementary has the largest amount with 92%.
