“We don’t have food to eat, so I drink water to fill my stomach so I’m not hungry.”

“I sometimes eat paper because we don’t have anything in our cabinets to eat.”

These are statements made by children right here in our communities and our state. Thanks to the support of the Parsons Area Community Foundation (PACF), children who experience hunger are able to receive a packet of kid-friendly, nutritious food for the weekend via our Food 4 Kids program. Every Friday, school coordinators distribute the packet to children who might otherwise spend the entire weekend without food.

This vital program, provided by the Kansas Food Bank to over 7,000 children weekly, ensures that kids have access to food when it is not provided for them at home. Receiving the food allows children to come to school on Monday mornings prepared and ready to learn. Their first thought of the day is no longer, “When is lunch?”

Because of this program, notable differences are seen in these students:  grades improve, behavioral problems diminish, and attitudes toward school improve. These things would not be possible without the tremendous support of the PACF.