Tribe donates $35K to food program
<p>Eva Sherrill gives an appreciative hug to Coeur d'Alene Tribal Chairman Chief Allan following a presentation Friday where the Coeur d'Alene Tribe donated $35,000 to the Post Falls Food BankÕs new Weekend Nutrition Backpack program. There are currently approximately 75 elementary students participating in the program. Sherrill is one of the 14 volunteers who fills backpacks with foods for children in need.</p>
POST FALLS - The Coeur d'Alene Tribe on Friday donated $35,000 to a program that will benefit students in the Post Falls School District who don't have reliable access to food on weekends.
"Hearing about kids who go without food all weekend really tugs at your heart, so when we heard about this program, we just had to help," said Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council.
Through the Weekend Nutrition Backpack Program, supplemental food items are provided to students in the Post Falls School District to reduce weekend hunger and provide additional nutritional assistance.
Each Friday, about 75 elementary students and their siblings are sent home with a backpack filled with non-perishable, child friendly, nutritious food for the weekend.
Sherry Wallis, executive director of the Post Falls Food Bank, said the Tribe's gift was "truly a holiday miracle."
"This incredibly generous gift will allow us to feed our current program participants for multiple years to come," she said.
Wallis said the program is likely just scratching the surface of kids in need of weekend hunger relief.
This year's program is at capacity and those children who are most at risk are being identified by school counselors.
State Rep. Bob Nonini, chairman of the Education Committee, said he hears stories about malnourished and even homeless school kids sleeping in car trunks.
"Too many of them are eating lunch at school on Friday and don't get to eat again until they return to school on Monday," he said.
Mark Jones, Post Falls school board member, was instrumental in creating the Weekend Nutrition Backpack Program. He said that hunger leads to many problems for children including physiological, behavioral, and illness issues.
The immediate benefits of regularly providing a child with food include improved health, increased attendance at school, and better academic and participation performance in the classroom.
"The reality is that this program can make a tremendous difference in the lives of these struggling kids and families," Jones said.