Backpack program tackles food insecurity in community

By Ed Pierce

The lyrics of an old Christian hymn proclaim simply “we rise by lifting others” and that’s precisely what the Windham/Raymond Backpack Program strives to do.

Volunteers gathered in the Windham Middle School 
cafeteria on Tuesday, Dec. 12 after packing student 
backpacks with food for them over the Christmas
break from school. The program is seeking donations
to help RSU 14 children overcome food insecurity
and go on to success in their lives.
PHOTO BY BRUCE SMALL 

The initiative was launched during the 2011-2012 school year to assist school children in RSU 14 to overcome food insecurity so they can grow up healthy, do their best work in school, and become successful adults. With Maine passing the “School Meals For All” legislation in 2021, all students across the state are given access to school meals, but some struggling families in the community still face the daunting challenge of feeding children on weekends and over vacations when school is not in session.

This is where the Windham/Raymond Backpack Program comes in. It provides food to supplement children in need over weekends and school breaks during the school year. Each “Backpack” contains breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, as well as snacks. The backpacks are discreetly distributed to the students by teachers or staff at each RSU 14 school and are packed every Tuesday by a team of volunteers at Windham Middle School.

Volunteer Marge Govoni of Windham says that research indicates that children who grow up in food insecure households sometimes trail their peers in terms of cognitive, emotional, and physical development and this program is designed to help those students succeed.

“When the program began 12 years ago, it provided meals for approximately 50 students. It has since increased in number to 120 students from both Windham and Raymond schools being served,” Govoni said. “The increase in participation paired with rising food cost has made it more important than ever that we keep this program open and available to as many children as we can.”

In data collected in 2022 by the National Health Interview Study, a direct correlation was shown between household food insecurity and significantly worse general health in American children, including some acute and chronic health problems, and heightened emergency room hospital visits.

The Windham/Raymond Backpack Program only accepts monetary donations to ensure the nutritional items and menu are similarly based and meet the needs of the child.

“In order to continue to serve up to 120 children each weekend during the school year, we need more members of the community to support our program,” Govoni said. “We are reaching out to local businesses asking for additional sponsors to this program. Our biggest and most consistent contributor over the past several years has been Windham Weaponry and their generous staff, who unfortunately recently announced they will be closing down.”

If you are considering donating, Govoni said that donation benchmarks are one bag for one child at $10, and one child for the school year at $300.

“Of course, any amount is helpful, and 100 percent of the donations go toward buying food and supplies with no administrative cost or fees applied,” she said. “Using this program to give students food for the weekend ensures that come Monday morning when they return to school, they will not be hungry and ready to learn. I am passionate about this program and making sure that students have access to food over the weekend and it is run totally on donations and the work of some wonderful and caring volunteers.”

RSU 14 Chef Ryan Roderick said that the Backpack Program is so valuable because it helps to fill the gaps.

“It is not uncommon to think that because school meals are free that these kids should already have everything they need. The unfortunate truth is that even though breakfasts and lunches are available to all students, there are still hundreds of children who leave school on Friday afternoon and have no certainty that they will be fed a complete meal until Monday morning when they return to school,” Roderick said. “If that is the case, you can bet those students are going to be the ones struggling to stay focused, stay awake and to be the best version of themselves when they are in attendance. The backpack program helps those children sustain over the weekend, to feel a sense of comfort and normalcy and to be confident knowing they will not have to feel hungry, tired, or irritable by the time they get back to school. Every child deserves to feel happy and energized and to be given the best possible chance to succeed and the Backpack Program is our way to ensure that chance is given.”

Govoni said that making a donation can help transform the lives of the RSU 14 students whose lives can be made a little easier with a nutritional meal that is not always available to them.

“We cannot make this program work without the help of our very generous businesses, organizations and residents of Windham and Raymond,” she said. “We are very grateful and cannot thank those who have contributed monetary donations or volunteer their time to help make this program successful.”

To make a donation helping ensure that the food insecure children of the Windham and Raymond communities are nourished and well fed, mail a check or money order to: School Nutrition Program, Attn: Ryan Roderick, 228 Windham Center Road Windham, ME 04062 Note: Backpack Program.

Online donations can also be made at https://rsu14.androgov.com/ - Select “all other student activities,” fill in your information, for a specific school, select “School Nutrition.” For *Payment Description* write “Backpack Program.”

For more details about the Windham/Raymond Backpack Program, call 207-892-1800, Ext. 2012 or send an email to rroderick@rsu14.org or mgovoni@rsu14.org <