Abiding Savior started the Snackpack Program at Pinewood Elementary School in 2012. Since then our congregation has provided thousands of weekend snacks and meals for kids who might not otherwise have enough to eat. During the school week these kids get free lunch and breakfast at school, but not on the weekend. Each week, our congregation prepares a bag of healthy snacks and small meals for children to take home on Friday.
The Snackpack Program has been very successful. However, the need for the snackpacks has outgrown Abiding Savior’s ability to be the sole provider of these weekend snackpacks. When we started the program, we made about fifteen snackpacks every week. Now we are sending home forty-eight snackpacks and Pinewood says there is a need for as many as two-hundred!
Because of this rising demand, Abiding Savior, Pinewood Elementary, and Ralph Reeder Foodshelf have been in discussion about the Snackpack Program. It has been decided that beginning January 1, 2020, Ralph Reeder will take over the SnackPack program at Pinewood Elementary. They are already providing snackpacks at all of the other elementary schools in the Mounds View School District. They have the ability to buy in bulk at greatly reduced rates and they have access to more resources to fund the program. The Food Shelf will partner with the PTA at Pinewood and other community organizations to broaden funding and volunteer opportunities for the Snackpack Program. Abiding Savior will continue to be involved as one of those community partners.
Snackpack has been a terrific program started by our congregation and our dedication has been greatly appreciated by the Pinewood community. Although it is sad to let go of such an amazing ministry, it is really a success story. Through our efforts, even more children will be fed and we have established a great relationship with Pinewood Elementary. Because we will be handing off the Snackpack Program, we will have resources available to meet other needs at Pinewood and in our community. It is exciting to think about the possibilities!