Courtesy Photo Volunteers pack food for Feeding Kids Ministry.

ALPENA — No child should go hungry, and Resurrection Lutheran Church of Alpena is filling the hunger gap on the weekends, when children and teens might not have access to enough food.

The church established Feeding Kids Ministry in 2012, so this fall will be the program’s 10th anniversary. During the 2021-22 school year alone, Feeding Kids Ministry provided 47,124 meals to students who qualified for the program.

Students who are eligible to receive free or reduced price school meals may qualify for the backpack program, which provides enough nutritious food for two days. To maintain anonymity, each school coordinator will choose the method of distribution.

Children who do not get enough food outside of school are considered food insecure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “households that are uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet basic needs of all their members because of insufficient money or other resources.”

“The food insecure kids probably don’t have dinner at night,” said Feeding Kids Team Leader Joanne Gallagher. “But they’re eating during the day (at school).”

Those students who are experiencing food insecurity at home may show signs at school, such as:

≤ being extremely hungry on Monday morning;

≤ appearing anxious for a meal to be served;

≤ rushing to the cafeteria line;

≤ showing up early for school breakfast;

≤ eating quickly;

≤ cleaning their plate, no matter what is served;

≤ asking for more when the meal is done being served.

There can also be signs of lagging school performance and behavioral issues.

Feeding Kids Ministry began in the fall of 2012, when Gallagher and Lisa Thayer approached John Diamond to see if the ministry would be feasible. It started with just a $100 donation, which allowed for 10 packages of food to be assembled for students at Lincoln Elementary School in Alpena.

The food in the packages is nonperishable, nutritious, cost-effective, and easily prepared by the child. Distribution will be each Friday for the students to take home on the weekend.

“Before any breaks in school, we pack twice as much food,” Gallagher noted.

“We can be the hands, feet, and face of Jesus to these children,” a summary of the program explains. “By providing this food, these children come to school better prepared to learn and more likely to move into sustainable, positive lifestyles.”

Gallagher leads the Feeding Kids Ministry team, but she’s not big on titles.

“We’re a team of people that work together to make this all happen,” she said.

She noted that Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency plays a vital role in identifying the children who need the food packs, through their school success workers.

“If it weren’t for them, it wouldn’t work,” Gallagher said.

A donation of $350 provides a year’s worth of food to one child, she noted. Donations are always welcome at any level of giving, as every penny counts toward making sure a child is nourished. It costs about $150 to feed one child for the weekends during one school year.

“Once we started telling people what we were doing, the money started flowing in,” said a grateful Gallagher. “It was wonderful.”

Feeding Kids will start up its school year backpack program the week of Sept. 12. For more information, visit Feeding Kids Ministry on Facebook, or email Gallagher at joanne@rlca.us.

Many volunteers make this program a success, she said. Contact Gallagher to volunteer as a packer or a school liaison.

“Everything raised for Feeding Kids ­– every single cent — goes to food,” Gallagher said. “There are no wages. The supplies that we need are generally donated.”

She added that costs have gone up with inflation, so it now costs $3.50 for a weekend pack, whereas it used to cost $3.

Donations are accepted via mail and online at www.feedingkids.us. To mail a check, send it to: Feeding Kids Ministry, P.O. Box 151, Alpena MI 49707.