Posted on 07/10/2011 2:43:54 PM PDT by buccaneer81
DELAWARE, Ohio - Kids don't stop being hungry on weekends.
Many depend on free lunches served on weekdays during the summer at more than 1,500 sites throughout Ohio, but Saturdays and Sundays can be days without a guaranteed meal.
This summer, six of those sites will try to fill kids' bellies over weekends through a two-year national pilot project. Andrews House, a community-services center here, is the only central Ohio site offering the weekend meals.
"They become dependent on the school cafeteria. It's an important source of nutrition for them," said Don Chenoweth, executive director of Andrews House. "Some families will be challenged to replace that food, and this helps fill those gaps." Story continues below Advertisement
At Woodward Elementary School, one of two Andrews House lunch sites in Delaware, up to 60 backpacks with two packed lunches are distributed on Fridays to any child who asks for one. Nearly two-thirds of Woodward students are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch.
"In this neighborhood, food scarcity and food hardship is an issue for half of the families," Chenoweth said. "We're not asking, but we know the child is hungry."
After eating their pizza lunch on Friday, 55 kids took home blue backpacks for the weekend. They were filled with two meals that included peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, apples, carrots, Hot Pockets and cereal bars.
Not having to buy food for lunches seven days a week helps with grocery bills "tremendously," said Mary Andrix. And on weekends filled with baseball, football and cheerleading obligations for her three children - sons Donny, 10, and Titus, 6, and 7-year-old daughter, Payton - having the bagged meals ready in the fridge is convenient.
"When they're hungry, they can just go and grab it themselves," she said.
Many of the parents are grateful for the free meals and for the opportunity to get their children out of the house for some fun with dozens of other neighborhood kids.
"It's a great program," Maranda Seitter said as her 4-year-old daughter, Arianna, slurped applesauce.
"You have lunch. You go play. What more could you ask for?"
Kristina Breece usually takes her 4-year-old son, Aaron, and 2-year-old daughter, Paige, to Woodward for lunch three days a week.
"We do one big meal on Sunday, so it's good not to have to think about what to feed them in the middle of the day," she said. "It's quick and easy for us."
The backpacks are paid for through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The other Ohio sites are in Portsmouth, Hamilton, Cincinnati, Logan and Ashtabula. The 10 other sites nationally are in Arizona and Kansas.
Andrews House will receive $12,300 over the next two summers for the backpack program. Both the weekday and weekend lunch programs will continue through Aug. 19 in Delaware.
amanning@dispatch.com
Any bets that their families also qualify for food stamps?
And Section 8 housing.
>>Not having to buy food for lunches seven days a week helps with grocery bills “tremendously,” said Mary Andrix. And on weekends filled with baseball, football and cheerleading obligations for her three children - sons Donny, 10, and Titus, 6, and 7-year-old daughter, Payton - having the bagged meals ready in the fridge is convenient.
This is a joke, right? I grew up poor and my parents always bought my food, but we didn’t have money for baseball, football, and cheerleading “obligations”! Screw the debt ceiling debate. Raise it through the roof. I’m not tightening my belt as long as people like this are reproducing. Let Mary Andrix’ kids spit on her grave for not preparing them for the hard life they’re going to have when the whole system comes crashing down.
Yes, it always warms my heart to see the huge turnouts, parades, and other outpouring of thanks on National Taxpayer Appreciation Day.
So - let me get this straight ... parents don’t feed their children half the time during the week and next to nothing on the weekends... Sounds like Child Abuse to me... Why wouldn’t a set of parents be prosecuted for not preparing meals and feeding their children? The U.S.A. has fallen down the Rabbit Hole - Alice in Wonderland world — down is up and up is down... Craziness...
and about $5,000 in tax credits every year.
I am confused. What are they doing with the food stamp monies?
That goes for the nice cuts of meat, the prepared hot grocery store meals and the seafood that my family doesn't buy because prices have doubled in the past four years.
"You have lunch. You go play. What more could you ask for?"
Those words are heard in the White House, too.
How, oh how, did people feed their kids a hundred years ago before all of these big gubaminty programs came along to do it for ‘em?
The wheels are off the bus, folks. People now see lining up for a handout -— or having their kid do it for them -— a perfectly normal thing to do. “A little help with the grocery bills so I can take Johnny and Susie to practice, buy them cell phones, get them flat screens for their rooms...”
When did it stop being parents’ responsibility to feed, clothe and shelter their own children? When did these children stop being their parents’ lack of personal responsibility and become the taxpayers’ financial liability?
Lazy butt woman.
She likes the convenience of her children being able to open the fridge and serve themselves to foods prepared and supplied by others.
They sell ‘em for booze and smokes.
It is time for parents to take over the responsibility for feeding their children. There is no such thing as "free" lunches. Nothing is "free." It is time to remove the taxpayer burden of feeding children, and return the responsibility to parents. Anything else is nonsense.
I was under the impression that Delaware County was a relatively well-to-do area.
They don’t get free booze and smokes on the weekends?
It’s a travesty I tell you!
I thought we had a childhood obesity epidemic.
They can afford a cell phone but they can’t feed their kids
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.