Over 200,000 children in the state of Minnesota live in food insecurity and do not always know if they will receive their next meal. The Sheridan Story’s purpose is to respond to this need by closing the weekend food gap between Friday and Monday, when children are not able to participate in the free or reduced meal programs at school.
Through the Sheridan Story we are currently serving 547 students at 18 schools within District 196. Here are a few testimonials from school social workers and counselors as to what they have noticed:
1. "I have 72 families still participating in the program. I believe I was up to close to 100 at the highest point. The folks that have stopped, have said they were appreciative of it, but are not in need anymore. The fact that 72 are still utilizing it shows that it is a valuable program! I am appreciative of the members of Grace for their continued support of the program and the volunteers that come on Friday and deliver!! We couldn’t do it without them."
2. "I have received numerous phone calls from parents who appreciate the extra support as they experience job losses, or struggling to make ends meet as a single parent. The most moving experiences involved students advocating for the services after hearing about it in the announcements. In both these situations, their families did not speak English and did not have emails on file. These students came and requested the food because they wanted to feel like they were contributing to their family in some way. They all came from families where their parents work extremely hard to make ends meet. The opportunity to bring food home on Friday’s empowered them and they greatly appreciated it."
3. "I notice that the kids who are signed up sometimes have attendance issues – but they are always here on Fridays now. I think that says a lot about how much they are looking forward to this food, and needing it! Some of the kids that are signed up for it, I think feel more connected to the school – that we are noticing them, and helping them and their family. I can tell that they appreciate it so much and look forward to Fridays for that reason!"
We are still seeking sponsors for the 15 remaining locations! It costs $130 per child to provide a bag of food to help sustain them over the weekend for the entire school year. Our hope is this festival will move us closer to 100% coverage.
The Sheridan Story is an ever-growing network of weekend food programs, commonly called backpack programs, operating in multiple schools. Their organizational model is unique in that The Sheridan Story provides logistical expertise and project execution while leveraging community partnerships for funding and volunteers.
View more information at The Sheridan Story's site: http://www.thesheridanstory.com/
