Family center participates in regional ‘Back to School’ drive

The Springfield Family Center is taking part in a first-of-its-kind regional drive, along with six other organizations, to bring in school supplies and food for families in need ahead of the upcoming school year.

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2016-08-12 / Front Page Family center participates in regional ‘Back to School’ drive By Tory Jones Bonenfant toryb@eagletimes.com Springfield Family Center Executive Director Mike Weiss displays supplies and a few school snacks collected through the Back to School Food and Supplies Drive, taking place Aug. 8-13 in seven communities in southern Vermont. — TORY JONES BONENFANT Springfield Family Center Executive Director Mike Weiss displays supplies and a few school snacks collected through the Back to School Food and Supplies Drive, taking place Aug. 8-13 in seven communities in southern Vermont. — TORY JONES BONENFANT SPRINGFIELD — A family center in Springfield is taking part in a first-of-its-kind regional drive, along with six other organizations, to bring in school supplies and food for families in need ahead of the upcoming school year. “Families in need have already started to contact us looking for help with school supplies,” said Springfield Family Center Executive Director Mike Weiss. Weiss was at the center on Thursday, Aug. 11, with about a dozen shopping bags filled with packages of lined and colored paper, pens and felt markers, folders, binders, notebooks, pudding packs, peanut butter crackers, tuna and other supplies and lunch items. Those items are destined for students in all grades, even high school, in Springfield and North Springfield. “It has been a regional effort,” Weiss said. During the week of Aug. 8-13, community food shelves and food pantries in Southeastern Vermont will be collecting healthy lunch and snack foods and school supplies for children and families served in seven communities through its Back to School Food and Supplies Drive. “With your help we can provide some assistance to families at a time when their budgets are stretched thin to buy clothing, shoes, backpacks and school supplies for their children,” the organizations said in a joint press release. The effort is thanks in part to the Healthy Harvest Network, which includes seven food pantry organizations, Weiss said. Food pantries taking part in the Back to School Food and Supplies Drive include Our Place in Bellows Falls, Chester-Andover Family Center, Guilford Cares Food Pantry, Groundworks Collaborative Food Shelf in Brattleboro, Putney Food Shelf, Springfield Family Center, and Townshend Community Food Shelf. Weiss said that the Springfield Family Center Food Pantry, at 365 Summer St., will collect “as much as we can,” and match up the collected items with what local families need for back-to-school supplies. School starts at the end of August, he said. “Springfield is a fairly poor community. Over 51 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch,” Weiss said. If families are still in need locally, that effort may extend further in Springfield and the pantry may work with other options and local partners, Weiss said. More than 20,000 children in Vermont, and 1 in 4 children in Windham County, are “food insecure” at some time during the year. “Food insecurity” is defined as the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to a lack of financial resources, according to a press release from the organizations taking part in the drive. Weiss said that the Springfield Family Center welcomes all donations of healthy food items. Organizers are asking for food items such as peanut butter, tuna fish, crackers, raisins, applesauce, pudding or fruit cups, and non-sugary cereals, though other items would be welcome. A local teacher recommended the following items as beneficial for students in need: No. 2 pencils, pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils, zipper pencil cases, folders, paper (lined, construction, and plain), composition notebooks, and 1-inch binders, according to the press release. Backpacks would be welcome and are “always a need,” but collection drives do not often receive a lot of backpacks, he said. Weiss said the center hopes to distribute the collected goods to families during the last two weeks of August. In Springfield, the family center is the drop-off spot for donations. Toward the end of the month, parents receiving supplies can call the center and set up a pick-up time. Weiss said the Springfield center’s food pantry plans to participate again next year, either through a coordinated effort with other pantries again, or in conjunction with other local organizations. The food pantry in Springfield also offers daily community meals from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., regular access to a food pantry, and a day shelter with laundry, computer services, and showers, where people who are homeless or in crisis can connect with resources for services and housing. The center’s chef and staff have also been distributing about 200 lunches a day through its “Lunch at Home” summer program, Weiss said. For the food and school supplies drive taking place through Aug. 13, if any supplies are left over and non-perishable, such as notebooks, pencils or binders, those supplies will be rolled over to next fall’s efforts, he said. Back to School Food and Supplies Drive participating centers can be reached at the following phone numbers: Our Place in Bellows Falls (802) 463-2217 Chester-Andover Family Center (802) 875-3236 Guilford Cares Food Pantry (802) 257-0626 Groundworks Collaborative Food Shelf, Brattleboro (802) 257-5415 Putney Foodshelf (802) 387-8551 Springfield Family Center (802) 885-3646 Townshend Community Food Shelf (802) 365-4348 For more information, families in need can call the food shelf closest to where they live or work. Informational will also be posted in each town.