No Child Left Hungry

    In small-town South Dakota, which often seems like an idyllic and quaint place, it is hard to imagine that people go hungry. Yet, it does happen. More regrettable is the number of children who are food insecure. According to Feeding South Dakota, one in nine children are food insecure in the state, and a Feeding America study showed hunger exists in every county in South Dakota, including Marshall County. In an effort to address that problem and make sure that no kid deals with hunger, a couple of notable area programs arose in the last several years helping children in the local school districts.
    School lunch programs are crucial in keeping food insecure children fed. In the local school districts, qualified kids can benefit from the free and reduced mrdeal program. But what about during the weekends when kids are away from school? This could be problematic. 
    Over a decade ago, Pam Price, the then co-director of the Marshall County Food Pantry in Britton, knew this was a concern. She heard as much from community members and while working at the pantry. “There is more need in our community than people may realize,” noted Price. 
    Thinking about kids especially, she researched backpack programs where children would receive food to take home on the weekend. The actual BackPack Program supported by  Feeding America came with some red tape that would be hard to overcome, but Price, her husband Terry and other concerned people wouldn’t let the idea go. 
    “For the food pantry, we would regularly go speak at churches,” explains Price. “We began talking about a backpack program.” People were interested and willing to help. The founders received their first donation, $400 from the women of the Britton Methodist Church, even before they could begin. 
    Then the group got a big windfall of help from a matching grant through Land O’ Lakes and Full Circle Ag in 2013. The thousands of dollars got the ball rolling and the Home BASE program was born, BASE standing for Building Academic School Excellence. 
    A large board was formed, which included Paula Hanson, who a decade later is still working with the program. She explains that Home BASE is still housed at the Methodist Church. Weekly, a volunteer will pack a weekend’s worth of easy to prepare meals and snacks in individual bags. They pack main meals, breakfasts and several snacks. 
    “We try to be health conscious when it comes to items we send home,” noted Hanson. “But we also have to be practical as well. We found that sending canned vegetables home gets heavy for kids to carry.”
    In the Britton-Hecla district, all families need to do to qualify is fill out a form. No income information is required. The food bundles are then discreetly distributed at school and Hanson explains that the board members do not even know who gets the food. 
    The Britton program is funded locally with grants like that from Full Circle, plus many group donations like the Horton United Way fund. Area churches are always very generous and Ken’s, the local grocery store, helps them out on discounts. Hanson added that the Lions Club even sends home a birthday cake kit with the kids in the program, complete with frosting and a pan to bake it in. 
    The generosity of the community is boundless, note the program’s founders. “We originally thought that people might choose to donate to the food pantry OR the backpack program,” Price emphasized. “But people are so wonderful and often donated to both causes.” 
    As a teacher in the B-H district, Hanson says she has seen firsthand the need in the community, which makes the Home BASE program all the more important. “Personally, I see that there are  kids that are hungry,” she stressed. “I know that we have kids that might not get another meal after they leave school on a Friday. People don’t always see the need, but it’s there.” 
    Not long after Home BASE was formed out of Britton, the neighbors just down the road in Langford also detected a need in their district. Jennifer Gustafson explained that years back, lunch lady Bonni Stolsmark came to her concerned. 
    “Bonni said that kids were extra hungry on Mondays and that we needed to do something about it,” said Gustafson. “We thought about kids who might need extra food and found it was probably close to the one in eight kids that Feeding SD estimated statewide at the time.” 
    Gustafson and others decided to work through Feeding South Dakota for their program, which they named Home PLATE. PLATE stands for Promoting Learning and Teaching Excellence. Gustafson noted that working with Feeding SD allows them to receive discounted food and have it delivered. They operate out of the Claremont Church as they need to work with a tax exempt organization. 
    Like Home BASE, Langford Area’s Home PLATE sends home food for the weekend anonymously. To be eligible, kids need to be receiving free or reduced lunches. Like the neighboring program, Langford’s also works with the local grocery store and is supported by lots of local donations from groups, churches and individuals plus fundraisers. 
    Both backpack programs have supported hundreds of food insecure children since their founding. Both Hanson and Gustafson note that the numbers served vary each year. Britton’s program started with around 25 kids receiving food and at times has dipped to just a few participating. Hanson stressed though that they are at around 22 kids again this year. Gustafson agreed that Home PLATE has seen varying numbers and served as many as around 30 some school years. This year, they are sending somewhere around 15 bundles home. 
    As those in charge of both the Home BASE and PLATE programs look to the future, they hope to continue to support area children. Both groups say that they are always happy to take donations. Britton-Hecla area donations can be made to Paula Hanson or dropped at the school. Langford Area donations can be dropped at that school or directed to Audrey Johnson.
    Home BASE board member Pastor Terrill Sorensen summarized. “People often find themselves in tough circumstances and in difficult situations that can affect their home life and food supply. Luckily, our communities are frighteningly generous and are willing to look after the children affected by this.”