Donation to help feed 81 school children

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Assistance and Resource Ministries made the contribution to Second Harvest Food Bank to sponsor the Food for Kids supplementary backpack program at three Carter County schools: Cloudland Elementary and High schools and Little Milligan Elementary. The funding will provide a backpack filled with nutritious, easy-to-access and -prepare food for the students once a week through the 2015-2016 school year.

Second Harvest sponsors the program in eight counties in Northeast Tennessee, Second Harvest community relations director Kathy Smith said. The program is available in other schools in Carter County, she said.

“These three schools did not have a sponsor to provide the program to their students,” Smith said. “ARM’s contribution will help provide food where it is needed.”

ARM was able to make the contribution thanks to donations from local community organizations and churches, board of directors member and treasurer Scott Reynolds said.

“We have received continual donations from churches and organizations that support the drive to keep food here for families in need,” Reynolds said. “This helps make the biggest impact in the most effective manner. The program was already in place. We are just helping support it to bring the help where it is needed most.”

The backpack program will help 40 students at Cloudland Elementary, 16 at Cloudland High and 25 at Little Milligan, ARM Director Nikki Jones said.

“This alleviates some of the stress on families who are in need,” Jones said.

She noted ARM sponsors their own backpack program, which gives children in their clients families a backpack filled with food each time the family stops at ARM for assistance.

ARM’s donation came at a very opportune time, Smith said.

Through June 12, Centurylink will match and add to any food or monetary donation made to Second Harvest. For each $1 or pound of food donated, Centurylink in turn will provide up to $6, Centurylink representative Shelley Huber said. The matching donation program is capped at $1 million nationwide.