Dear Editor,

New Glarus students need our help. Too many students have insufficient food for the weekends and working together, we can solve this problem.

Problems are solved when we work together, and that’s exactly what we did last summer. In August 2018, a partnership between the School District of New Glarus, Second Harvest Food Bank of Madison, and Green Cares Food Pantry was formed to provide nutritious shelf-stable weekend foods to New Glarus students, grades 4k–12, who request the service. The New Glarus Food For Kids Program serves any New Glarus student who requests weekend foods. Between September 2018 through July 2019, a total of 1,397 weekend food packs were issued.

Here’s how the program works. Green Cares purchased food through the Second Harvest Food Bank in Madison, utilizing the purchasing power of the Food Bank. Second Harvest delivers the food to the Green Cares Food Pantry just outside of Monticello, and a Green Cares volunteer transports the food to the New Glarus Elementary School. The School District provides an in-kind contribution to the program by confidentiality issuing the shelf-stable foods to students who choose to participate in the program. Only the District knows the names of the students. Green Cares and Second Harvest requests numbers of unduplicated students participating each month as well as the total number of weekend food packs issued, but no information about the student and/or parent is provided, nor is it requested. And what’s most important; there is no charge to the student, parent, or the District.

Does research support this type of programming? The answer is yes. Feeding America’s research found students who are food insecure are more likely to repeat a grade in elementary school, more likely to have developmental impairments in language and motor skills, and have more social and behavioral problems.

Earlier, I said together we can solve this problem. Green Cares Food Pantry needs your donation to purchase the food through the Second Harvest Food Bank. Your financial gift will be used to purchase food for New Glarus students. If you wish to partner with Green Cares in making sure New Glarus students have sufficient food for the weekend, please donate to this program. Please make your check payable to Green Cares Food Pantry–New Glarus Food For Kids. That way your donation will be ear-marked for the Food For Kids Program. Financial gifts earmarked for the New Glarus program will only be used for New Glarus students. This program is very cost-effective; there are no paid staff – all of us are volunteers with the same belief – no New Glarus student should be hungry. Ever.

All of us want students to do their best at school; let’s not have food insecurity interfere with that goal. Thanks for listening,

Jeannie Blumer,

Chairperson, SWCAP Board of Directors

Volunteer, Green Cares Food Pantry