Ep 4 | Fueling Bellies and Brains: The Backpack Program

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It's interesting to see a lot of the children know that someone is caring about them outside of these walls. They know that backpack isn't packed by their teacher. They have to go to a different location to get it. Um, I've had children compliment guidance counselors and saying, Hey, can I get some more of that chicken salad? And I'm like, okay, are they eating the chicken salad? Well, they are. They like it, you know, because they it, yes, it's nutrition. Yes, their nutrition's being met. But you're also caring for the heart a little bit too, that they know there's somebody bigger than themselves, bigger than their family out there that believes in them and wants them to succeed.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. It's hard to imagine in a country of abundance that there are kids who go hungry, kids who attend our schools in our very own county. Well, that's the problem my next guest is working to resolve through the Backpack Project. Today she's going to share how the project got started, its progress, and the difference that it's making for kids in Escambia County. Fighting childhood hunger one backpack at a time, Escambia County enthusiast and wearer of many, many hats. Tiffany Clark. Hi, how are you? Good. Thanks for being here. You really do wear a lot of hats. And as far as Backpack Project goes, as I understand it, one of the reasons is there are no paid employees associated with the program. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 1:52

That's correct. The project is a hundred percent volunteer-based, funded, ran. Um, no one on the project receives any overhead. Um, finance most of us donate time and money. Um, all of us donate time and money. Um, and that's just the coolest part about the program is every dollar we raise goes to buy food or to help get the food to the children in need in our county. Wow. How many volunteers are there? We probably have a consistent base of about 20. That's good. Um, from board of directors to drivers, um, to people that come in and help with a tournament that we have to raise money. Um, there's just different pieces that make um a backpack go home on the weekends. Wow. And how did this program start? It started in our maintenance department, and the maintenance guys noticed that the children in schools that they work in every day are going hungry. And they decided to get together and they picked one school, which was Sims Elementary, and they started feeding about 25 kids their first year.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

So just the maintenance guys went to Sam's Club and got food and gave it to the kids.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Correct. Wow. Um, they went and they brought things from home and they realized, you know, hey, you do this, I'll do that. And then they got a little bigger the next year, and then they realized, okay, we need to figure out how to raise some money. And they all like to fish. So they started a fishing rodeo. There's also other members of the community in that beginning stages. Some of the IB kids have cast projects, and those IB children got involved. Um, and you know, we're talking 10, almost uh, I think 11, 2014, 2016 is when they started to get involved. And different ones have come forward every year and um have done their cast projects through the project. We had a pups for packs, we have had um bracelets for backpacks, children that flew around the country in an airplane, pennies for flight, all kinds of things, and all these children are supporting the other children in their district to have food at least.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

That's incredible. Oh that's all the feels.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

All the feels, and it's all the different pieces from someone serving on the board of directors to a cast project. We have so many different pieces and partners that support this organization.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

So, who are some of the other like corporate part partners that have since become involved since it started?

SPEAKER_01 4:34

So Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club is a very big sponsor and they have been for many, many years. And then um Mana and Levin Papatonio Rafferty and Peter Mouget and Katrina Mouget, um, Chris McKean and Kathy Sanborn and the American Heart Association have all come out and they saw what we were doing, and they wanted to help us be able to bring healthy food to the kids in our district, not just food, but take what we were doing at about 225 a kid and help us to provide not just Pop Tarts, beanie weenies, um, you know, sausage Vienna sausages, granola bars, take those efforts, which were amazing, and help us increase the nutrition. And so at that point we're fueling the brain, not just the belly. And so now what our backpacks look like are with this partnership is um fruit cups, chicken salad kits, tuna salad kits, let me think what else, uh, fruit, uh those are big, veggies, all of those things, granola bars, shell stable milk, yeah, all of those nutritional important pieces that we were giving, but maybe just not to the same level. And now we're able, and we're just so excited about that. And it has been super successful. This year was our first year with that partnership, and um we started with about 442 kids at the beginning of the year, and we ended the year with about 547 kids. Oh wow, so you're talking about 2021, uh 2021-2022 school year. Oh, okay. We started in September and we were feeding about 442, and then we ended the year at 547 children. So the total backpacks we put out last year were 17,881 backpacks went home.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Wow. Okay, so the reason that it's called the backpack program is because that's how the food goes home is in a backpack. That is correct. Okay, that makes sense. And uh what's typically in a backpack?

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Um, so they get three or four either um chicken cup, tuna cup, so it's a little chili chicken salad kit, a couple milks, a some vegetable cups, some fruit cups, uh granola bar. I don't think I'm leaving anything out.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

So it's kind of like all the good things that you mentioned that are brought by the corporate sponsors. It's every every Friday, it's a mix of those things enough for the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Correct. They probably get about they get about 15 different items that the backpack project as a whole, with all of our sponsorships. And you know, a sponsorship, it can be a corporate sponsor or the sweet guy that drives for us every week. He's just as much of a sponsor or a player because he's donating time and gas. And we are just so thankful for the broad spectrum our community offers to support this program.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

That's really nice. That seems like everyone really comes together to make this happen for the kids. And as I understand it, it's a needs-based program. Can you explain what that means?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

It is. So every year we send out at the beginning of the year to the schools that we serve. There's 16 of them right now, and we say, All right, you know, let's identify our children. These are the kids that we currently have, and let us know which ones need to are graduated because they're in fifth grade. So now they've moved on to middle school or are coming in that are kindergartners. And like I said, those numbers val uh fluctuated. I had 442. I ended with, you know, 547. Sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down. They take a form, and the form is identified by any teacher, staff member, someone like that at the school that can say this child is rushing the lunch line, they're coming to school hungry on Monday mornings, they're maybe taking extra snacks. There's so many qualifiers that they can identify. And then they just turn that form into their school, and the school reports the numbers to us, and we're able to send home the backpacks.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

And I think some people would hear this and maybe have a tough time reconciling the idea that their tax dollars provide social programs for families in need that provide money for food and and you know, things like that. And then there's this other side of the kids are hungry. So I think that's tough for a lot of people to figure out because they care about kids, but also they're like, where is that money going? Why are they not getting the food that my tax dollars are paying for?

SPEAKER_01 9:32

I understand. And, you know, as a school system, we are here to educate our students. And I cannot control any of that. But when I have a child coming to school on Monday morning and they're hungry, so now they're having to have breakfast, and all they're thinking about is breakfast. They are not thinking about learning, and so they eat their breakfast, and now we're halfway through the morning before this young kid is able to learn and able to focus on the studies. So we are tasked to help bridge that gap. All I can control is what we do at our school. So I know if I put those resources in the children's hands, that's all I can do. And we are seeing a difference. They're coming to school ready to learn, and that's our goal.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Other than the obvious benefit of providing a solution for that hunger distraction, which is major, right? I mean, you don't want to be around me when I'm hungry. I turn hangry really, really fast. I'm pretty sure it's at my default level. Um, is there has the program seen any other benefits outside of that very obvious uh result?

SPEAKER_01 10:48

I, you know, I think that we have. And it's interesting to see a lot of the children know that someone is caring about them outside of these walls. They know that backpack isn't packed by their teacher. They have to go to a different location to get it. Um, I've had children compliment guidance counselors and saying, Hey, can I get some more of that chicken salad? And I'm like, okay, are they eating the chicken salad? Well, they are. They like it, you know, because they it, yes, it's nutrition. Yes, their nutrition's being met, but you're also caring for the heart a little bit too, that they know there's somebody bigger than themselves, bigger than their family out there that believes in them and wants them to succeed.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

I would have never thought of that as a benefit. So they're they don't feel forgotten, basically. Right. That's really sweet. Um can you share any success stories specifically since you've been involved?

SPEAKER_01 11:42

We um our most of what we do as anonymous as far as the data. We do not even the sheets that identify, we ask the schools to keep them. And I will say that the teachers have said that they keep identifying and they keep bringing kids to the table. So the fact that the teachers are behind this program as well makes me feel like that they are seeing the success in the classroom.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, I bet they are, and I bet they're very appreciative because it makes their job so much easier, right? Yes. And much more effective, not just about ease, but actually the kids are going to absorb the information that they're gonna get. Yes. If someone listening wants to get involved with this program, either as a volunteer or I don't know, maybe they uh know a family that is in one of these schools that might benefit from it. What do they do? How can they get involved?

SPEAKER_01 12:41

So if you know someone that is in need at any of our schools in our district, you can always contact the um for an office at that school and they will be able to help. If it's not our program, there's another one in the district that they can get involved with. Also, we have a Facebook page, we have a website, um backpack project USA. And if they want to volunteer, or like you said, if there's a child in need, reach out to us and we can help get them connected with volunteering or a backpack if that's what they need.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

There's so many, as I mentioned in the intro, hats that you wear in the county. This is just one of them. I think when we hear about programs like this, we always imagine like this is this person's only job. Obviously, this matters to you because you're taking your own time that could be spent in so many other ways to invest in this and invest in it heavily. Why is this so important to you personally?

SPEAKER_01 13:40

It's important to me personally because I have two kids and I know the challenges of being a mom in general, and then being a mom that faces food insecurities or in children, they do not understand why a mom is facing food insecurities. And if we can get that one need met and help in that one spot, then that mom or dad or caregiver can help with all the other things. And I just know that's just the simplest solution. I'm just thankful for my blessings and want to pass it forward.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

And what do you, uh, as we wrap up, what do you want people to know about Escambia County Public Schools?

SPEAKER_01 14:20

I think our schools are fabulous. And I love walking the halls on my real job and just seeing all the stories that those halls tell. You look around at all of the success, all of the heart, and it just it's really warming, and I'm just thankful to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Well, we're thankful that you are a part of it. That was a amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County School District. Special thanks to Pine Forest High School for their recording studio facilities and hospitality.