CCS' weekend meal program receives $20,000 donation

Friday, Feb. 27, 2015

OGDEN — Catholic Community Services Northern Utah received a $20,000 donation from Smith’s Food and Drug to purchase a truck to assist with the Bridging the Gap child hunger relief program.

Clifford, the Big Red Truck, as it is now called, was previously a Coca-Cola truck. It has side panels that open, which  makes delivering food much easier, said Marcie Valdez, director of CCS Northern Utah. “We were using box trucks and Clifford has cut down on a lot of loading and unloading.”

The Bridging the Gap program began last summer as an extension of CCS’ Northern Utah food pantry. CCS partners with the Ogden and Weber school districts to feed low-income elementary students over the weekends. 

“There are more than 20,000 kids in these two school districts utilizing the free and reduced lunch programs during the week, which doesn’t provide them with weekend meals,” said  Danielle Stamos, CCS public relations and marketing coordinator. “The sad reality is that even with the help of the assistance programs, many children still experience hunger when they can’t get food at school because they simply don’t have enough food at home to eat; these children eat breakfast and lunch at school.”

Four schools participate in the Bridging the Gap program; nearly 100 percent of the families whose students attend these schools are at 185 percent below the federal poverty level, said Rebecca VanMaren, CCS volunteer coordinator.

“We go to each school once a month and give every student at the schools two grocery bags of food for the weekend,” she said. “The bags are filled with nutritious foods that the kids enjoy, such as macaroni and cheese, tuna, peanut butter, yogurt, fresh fruit, cereals and different kinds of canned foods.” 

Also included in the bags are an activity sheet with nutrition education resources and information about food stamp (SNAP) benefits, and “we let them know we are here at the food pantry if they need additional support over the weekend,” said VanMaren.

One of the biggest challenges is giving the children fresh produce to take home for the weekend, said Valdez.

“Associated Food is helping us provide fresh produce, but we will continue to need donations throughout the year, and volunteers,” she said. “It takes about 20 volunteers each week to distribute the food to the kids. We would love to work with local businesses, church groups, or individuals; it’s two hours once a week and it’s a lot of fun.”

The Bridging the Gap program also runs during the summer. The school districts provide a free lunch at the park for children who need assistance; CCS bridges the gap by providing weekend meals.

This program “has been amazing, and we have heard countless stories,” said VanMaren. “One little girl said, ‘All we have at home is some cheese and now I know we will have some food this weekend.’ Another child brought home our flyer and a mother was able to come to our food pantry for food.”

Studies show the children cannot learn when they are hungry, added VanMaren.

More schools are considering participating in the Bridging the Gap program because they also have students who are going hungry on the weekends, said Stamos. “We are giving out hundreds of bags of food to support this weekend program and we would like to expand, but we need funding and support.” 

To support CCS in upcoming events such as the Love Utah Give Utah Campaign in March, or the 2015 Dream Builders Breakfast with the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City on April 15; visit the website at www.ccsutah.org. To volunteer for the Bridging the Gap program, email rvanmaren@ccsutah.org.