Council and Staff to Help Prepare Meals for Kids During Community Service Week

The Montgomery County Council and its staff are joining together for their annual Community Service Week project, which this year will benefit the Helping Kids Eat Backpack Weekend Meal Program.

The council and staff will work with the Women Who Care Ministries, Inc., to collect food items that would be appropriate for weekend meals for children.

The Council and its staff will be collecting food items through Tuesday, Oct. 21, which will then be divided into bags that will be delivered to schools for distribution. At the schools, food will be placed in the backpacks of students who qualify for Free and Reduced-Price Meals. The program provides food to about 1,750 students each weekend, according to a press release from the county.

“The County Council is excited to be a part of this program to ensure that our children receive good, nutritious food over the weekend,” said Council President Craig Rice. “It is our duty as a community to come together to help those in need, and supplying our children with well-balanced meals over the weekend is a mission we readily support.”

The program is targeted toward providing small, single-serve type items that can easily be carried home in a backpack and that could easily be served as part of a meal with minimal preparation.

Community Service Week in 2014 is being celebrated in Montgomery County from Oct. 18-26. Each County government department and agency is encouraged to participate in a project.

With less than a week to go in its project, the Council and its staff believe that they will be able to put together more than 225 bags to be sent home with students.

“A surprisingly high number of kids get their main meals at school each day and have very little to eat on weekends,” said Jean Arthur, a legislative analyst for the Council who is helping organize the drive. “This program helps by providing food over the weekend to make sure they are in a better position to do weekend homework and activities, and are ready for school on Monday.”

About Krista Brick

Krista Brick is a multi-media journalist with Montgomery Community Media.

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