More than 2,000 ‘Blizzard Bags’ packed for students facing hunger this winter
Story by Shennekia Grimshaw via localdvm.com.
Volunteers pack Blizzard Bags because hunger doesn’t take snow days off!
FREDERICK, Md. – The organization Blessings in a Backpack will feed more than 2,000 students in Frederick this Winter.
They said the movement is important, because hunger doesn’t take any snow days.
Blessings in a Backpack packed 2,200 “blizzard bags,” so kids aren’t hungry when schools are closed due to inclement weather this winter.
“Children shouldn’t have to worry about being hungry. They should be out playing in the snow,” said Hermine Bernstein, Blessings in a Backpack, Program Coordinator.
Community volunteers packed bags with non-perishable food items.
“You get to help people who just need that leg up. You get to get them food. You get to give them the supplies that they need,” said Levi Trumbull, volunteer.
The event was sponsored by Leidos Biomedical Research, and they had support from more than 100 volunteers in the county.
“We’re the forth largest employer in Frederick County, so our involvement in the community means a lot to us as company and a lot to us as individuals,” said Frank Blanchard, Leidos Biomedical Research, Director of Public Affairs.
Bernstein said the number of bags depends on the need at each participating school, including Waverly Elementary School, where the organization feeds 600 students, and Parkway Elementary School, where they feed 50 students.
Volunteers write motivational note cards to send home in Blizzard Bags.
“We started in one school feeding 210 kids, and now, we’re feeding 2,100 kids in 15 schools,” said Bernstein.
More than 11,000 students in Frederick County are living at or below the poverty level and heavily depend on school lunches during the weekday.
“This was a matter of creating a community activity and packing the bags so that all our kids would have food when Mother Nature closes for snow days,” said Bernstein.
One hundred of the bags will go to students on the Blessings in a Backpack waiting list.