Big kids hungry, too

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

Ronda Sewell knows exactly why high school students starting out their day hungry don’t seem to get support for an -in school breakfast program: “They aren’t cute.”

Coldbrook Lions have stepped in to try and fix that - and they’re taking a questionably cute route to fundraise for Central Kings’ food closet.

Sunday, February 14 from 1 p.m. on at the school, several men have “volunteered” to dress in drag for a Frenchy's fashion show, rounding out musical entertainment from C.K.’s own vice-principal Ruth Manning, Lion Darlene Allen, and guests the Dalton brothers, Matt Lunn & Friends and Matt Balsor. AVR host Jerry Neville will MC - and take his own turn down the cat walk. School staff have teamed up on their own skit as well.

Sewell, a C.K. guidance counsellor, made a presentation to the Lions recently about the students’ predicament. “Some of them aren’t at home, home can’t afford food, they’re working shifts, they have no transportation - their body needs are huge, and some just don’t get a lot.”

The Lions immediately donated $500, but wondered if they could do more. Lion Roseanne Kaizer has taken the lead to organize the Sunday fundraiser. She’s lined up King Lion Kirk Longmire, Lions District Governor Mark Durnford, local county Councillor Basil Hall and others - all with instructions to get themselves an outfit. “They’ll all have women’s names, too, in the program - but people will know who they are!”

Kaizer says, “it doesn’t clue in to people that teenagers come to school hungry, too.”

While many elementary schools have volunteer or school-based breakfast programs, Central Kings hasn’t been as fortunate. Sewell says, 15 years ago, staff would have big pots of soup on in the Family Studies room for hungry students, but it’s not a safe way to prepare and serve food.

What happens now daily in the lobby is, there’s a table set up with yogurt, toast, juice, maybe sandwich bags of dry cereal and, sometimes, fruit. “We’ve had partial funding from local people, businesses, community-groups, but it’s never enough - there’s a minimum of 250 kids a week coming for something to eat. “We go through a lot, and we’ve started running out of money.”

In just the last few days, she says, the options have been reduced: Monday, there may be yogurt and toast - nothing else. Another day, the same limited menu. “We’re also finding a lot of kids have no other meal in their day,” she says. In her office, the “food closet” includes cheese and crackers, apple sauce, packaged soup, bread and jam, oatmeal. “We’re cleaned out totally every couple of days - and there is no funding for this at all. The reality is, we don’t have it and we’ll be shutting it down.” “This happens every year - we need to form some lasting partnerships beyond teachers picking up dented juice cans once a month from the warehouse or grabbing a few extra bananas every few trips to the store. It’s not sustainable.”

As for the teenagers, not being “cute,” Sewell says that doesn’t mean they’re not hungry children. “Our kids are involved in other efforts - raising money for Haiti, service projects around the school and community. They shouldn’t have to be worried about something to eat.”