Filling backpacks at Duello
September 4, 2010
Wentzville School District
Operation Food Search and the Wentzville School District have teamed up to bring “Operation Backpack” to Duello Elementary School. Operation Backpack was launched in the spring of 2008 to address the food shortages experienced by thousands of children in the St. Louis area.
Backpacks filled with nutritious, kid-friendly, easy-to-prepare foods are given to children in need on Fridays before school dismissal. For many of these students, the only healthy meal they get is the one they have in school.
At Duello Elementary, counselors have worked with parents and identified 35 students that will participate initially, and that number may increase as the program continues throughout the year.
“We’ve had a lot of success with this in St. Louis, and we wanted to bring it to needy students in the Wentzville area,” said Karen Gladieux of Operation Food Search. “We opened a distribution center here almost three years ago, and the community has been very generous. It’s just another way to give back.”
The non-perishable food items from Operation Food Search are bagged by volunteers from 2 Rivers Church, and then the bags are delivered to the school on Friday mornings.
“We gather the backpacks while the children are in class, and return them full of the food items before the end of the day,” said Principal Dr. Kathy Fisher. “Our students and their families are really thankful to have the additional food.”
Operation Food Search was founded in 1981, and each month the organization distributes more than two million pounds of food and household items to more than 150 community agencies in the bi-state region.
From the Wentzville School District
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