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Kuna school collects nearly 4,000 food donations for weekend backpack program

Posted at 5:48 PM, Dec 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-04 19:48:06-05

The Kuna School District is coming together to provide weekend meals and snacks for students in need. 

It's all part of Kuna's Weekend Backpack Program, which around 100 students -- and their families -- rely on.

Students at Crimson Point Elementary School have collected nearly 4,000 food items for their peers who are at risk of hunger on the weekends.

"Now we've kind of extended it to like, boxes of granola bars, popcorn, pudding, that kind of stuff," said Chloe Daniels, a sixth-grader.

Student volunteers help collect the donations every morning, and so far, the school has more than doubled its original goal of 1,500 items.

"Within a matter of just a couple of days, we had already peaked our original goal," said principal Brandon Crusat. "So we had to set another goal for 5,000, and we're already over 3,000."

All of the food supports the district's backpack program, now in its fifth year, which provides meals and snacks to students in need. 

"We ended up getting a little bit of support from the Idaho Foodbank," said Shannon Shane. "They support us with 15 bags per week for only three of our buildings; and we have 10 in our district and 5,000 kids in our district. There's a need of about 100 kids a week."

Despite receiving assistance from the Idaho Foodbank, the district still has to assemble about 85 backpacks for its students every week. 

For the staff, the program means students are able to attend school on Monday well-nourished from the weekend; but for the students, it's a valuable lesson in the importance in helping others.

"We filled up almost 11 boxes in almost under a week and we have so many more weeks to go," said Emma Mahon, a sixth-grader. "I'm really excited to see what happens."

If you'd like to donate, you can drop off unperishable food items at any school in Kuna, or you can make a monetary donation to the Idaho Foodbank on behalf of the Weekend Backpack Program.