When School Ends on Friday, Hunger Doesn't
For most children, Friday afternoon marks the beginning of a weekend filled with family, friends, and time away from school.
For hundreds of children across Clallam County, it can also mean something far more uncertain:
Will there be enough food at home until Monday morning?
Every school day, students have access to breakfast and lunch. But when school closes for the weekend, that safety net disappears. For many local families already struggling with rising food costs, housing expenses, and financial uncertainty, weekends can be the hardest days of the week.
That's why the Port Angeles Food Bank's Friday Food Bags program exists.
Each week, students leave school carrying bags filled with breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks to help sustain them through the weekend. Last year, more than 500 students from Port Angeles to Clallam Bay relied on these bags to help fill the gap between Friday afternoon and Monday morning.
For some children, the food is enough to make it through the weekend themselves.
For others, it becomes something even more powerful.
Crystal Bennett, Special Education Coordinator at Crescent School, recently shared the story of one student who used food from the program to prepare meals for younger siblings while a parent was away on an extended work assignment.
Think about that for a moment.
A child used the food in their backpack to help feed their family.
The food in that bag meant there was something to share. It meant one less worry. It meant a family could get through a difficult season with a little more stability and a little more hope.
Crystal also shared:
"Many describe the pride they feel in being able to take extra food home to help support younger siblings or provide meals for their families over the weekend."
Those words stop us in our tracks.
Children should not have to worry about feeding their families. Yet every week, we meet students who carry that responsibility. We meet children who understand hunger far earlier than they should.
And we meet children whose lives are changed because someone in this community chose to help.
Every Friday Food Bag is packed because a donor gave.
Every bag is delivered because volunteers showed up.
Every meal reaches a child because this community believes that no student should have to spend the weekend hungry.
This year, however, the future of the program faces a challenge.
A major grant that helped support Friday Food Bags was not renewed. While we have enough food on hand to continue the program through the first weeks of the school year, we must begin purchasing additional food now to ensure students continue receiving support throughout the year.
The total cost of operating Friday Food Bags this school year is $200,000. Our immediate goal is to raise $50,000 to place upcoming food orders and keep the program moving forward without interruption.
The good news is that we still have time.
But only if our community steps forward now.
A gift of $8 provides one week of weekend meals for a student.
A gift of $40 helps provide five weeks of support.
A gift of $300 provides Friday Food Bags for an entire school year for one child.
These are more than meals.
They are peace of mind for parents.
They are relief for grandparents raising grandchildren.
They are stability during difficult times.
They are the reason a child can focus on being a kid instead of worrying about where the next meal will come from.
When school ends on Friday, hunger doesn't.
But together, we can make sure that every child leaves school with food they can count on until Monday.
If you'd like to support Friday Food Bags and help ensure no child loses access to weekend meals this year, please consider making a gift today.
Because no child should have to carry the burden of hunger home in their backpack.
Give here: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/fappea2/