How many evenings a week do you get up searching for a snack? Just a little something to tide you over? Or feel a hunger pain and think you’ll never make it to the next meal? For some children, once they leave school on Friday afternoon, that is a reality, not just a fear. Many do not have access to any snacks, let alone a complete meal. Many come to school on Monday morning and are so hungry they can’t concentrate in class.
 
September 2023 starts the 11th year for the BuddyBag Program. The program was put in place to feed children who are food insecure - children who don’t know if or when they will get to eat over the weekend.  This program reaches the three elementary schools in Canton along with McCall School.
 
Any child who is eligible for free or reduced lunch can have their parents/guardians apply for them to receive a BuddyBag. The sacks usually contain 10-14 food items that do not need to be refrigerated and do not need to be cooked, such as fruit cups, granola bars, cereal, pb or cheese crackers, ramen noodles, microwave popcorn, mac & cheese, poptarts, fruit snacks and usually a small treat. The BuddyBags are delivered to the schools and the teachers place the BuddyBags in the child’s backpack while they are at recess or out of the classroom.
 
From a principal:
 
This has been a great resource for our low income families. Many parents have expressed how grateful they are for receiving the food. It is a valuable service to our students and families.  Since the start of the BuddyBag Program, office referrals have dropped 38%. The students who receive the bags have better attendance on Fridays. On a typical Friday we have five or fewer students who receive food absent. Better test scores in reading and math are another way to measure how much this program has helped.
 
From a teacher:
 
The three children in my class that receive the BuddyBags have had really good Mondays since they started. They have been alert and attentive and better well behaved overall.
 
From the children:
 
Dear BuddyBag, you ar the bast peapels in the wold. You give us Budday Bags on Friday. Thank you. Please do not run out.
 
Dear Church, thank you for the BuddyBags. We enjoy getting them and they help my family and every BuddyBag you send counts and my hole entire family uses them.
 
Thank you for the BuddyBags. I and my family love the food inside them. I am thankful for the food.
 
The BuddyBag Program is run entirely by volunteers and relies on donations from the community churches and organizations. If you would like to be a part of this program or would like to give and make a difference in a child’s life, please contact the First Baptist Church office.