hungry kids at school

Our 6 year old attends a charter school which does not qualify for free school breakfast/lunch. The staff had occasionally asked for donations of snacks to keep on hand for those kids who forget their lunch but today I found out that there are also kids who families can't send them to school with lunch.

So I went out and bought NutriGrain bars, peanut butter crackers, EasyMac (They have a small microwave.) After I got home I remembered Chef Boy Ardee has microwaveable ravioli.

Can you think of something else that has some kind of nutritional value that I can donate to the school?

I worry about there being a child with gluten allergies....none of those options are suitable.

Please, I'll take any ideas you have.

Not good :-( :-(
My church fills backpacks (or bags) with more nutritional foods to give to grade school kids in similar situations. I don't have the list in front of me of what they put in, but if you are interested in more snack ideas and can wait a couple of days I can get one. As far as gluten free snacks go, if you have a Costco in the area they might have a decent selection of prepackaged, gluten free snacks. Rice crackers would be a good item. I think Pirate's Booty is gluten free as well. I'll be thinking...it's nice to know there's caring people like you in the world
Cheers!
Anna Marie

There's those squeezie fruit snacks .. don't know the name but they're pure fruit, no added sugar in a squishy pouch. Hubby's a trucker and I send those in his pocket for a quick energy snack that's easy to eat and no mess.

Sometimes Dollar store has good snackie things.

lenarenee said:

Our 6 year old attends a charter school which does not qualify for free school breakfast/lunch. The staff had occasionally asked for donations of snacks to keep on hand for those kids who forget their lunch but today I found out that there are also kids who families can't send them to school with lunch.

So I went out and bought NutriGrain bars, peanut butter crackers, EasyMac (They have a small microwave.) After I got home I remembered Chef Boy Ardee has microwaveable ravioli.

Can you think of something else that has some kind of nutritional value that I can donate to the school?

I worry about there being a child with gluten allergies....none of those options are suitable.

Please, I'll take any ideas you have.

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And this is why I will not spend money sending soap to "Clean the World" and I get livid with the funding sent to countries such as Haiti. We have a very large population that cannot feed their children or themselves. This should not be in our country.
When you think about the percentage of people that are gluten intolerant I would not worry greatly. Hungry children need food and these children most likely do not see doctors. I have a granddaughter that if it is up to her father for support she would go hungry if not for us and her aunt. So I know first hand how this happens :-( . Cups of fruit and puddings that Costco carries need no refrigeration and good snacks. Bless you for doing this. I used to help with donations a lot until retirement and limited income hinders what I can do now. Also the fruit snacks in the foil packets are nice. No Child should go hungry in this country

I would agree with not worrying about the gluten. That is a small portion of the population. I work at a school where almost all students qualify for free or reduced meals, and many would not eat if there was not a school lunch program. As a matter of fact, we send home bags (like AnnaMarie's) on the weekend with a number of students. You might check to see if there is a local food bank. Maybe they can help, or at least give you ideas. All the ideas I thought of have already been mentioned. Except perhaps PBJ sandwiches if someone there would be willing to make them. If there is a refrigerator you could also send apples or oranges.

If there is a fridge you could also do yogurt. Nature Valley makes granola bars with protein (10 grams) which I give to my husband every day for a snack in his lunch since he works 10-12 hour days. When my daughter was in school I would donate things to them to help with children who didn't have or couldn't afford lunch. I agree with the previous statement that it's a real shame that our government sends so much help to other countries when there are children and familys who need the assistance here.

I would ask about things like nut allergies though; some kids have really severe allergies to them. Things like the peanut butter crackers might not be a good idea. Most kids know what they can and can't eat. As far as other snacks go I like pretzel sticks, string cheese, mini-muffins (banana, blue berry, zucchini), raisins, dried cranberries, and any other fresh fruit you can get your hands on. I know my local food pantry frequently gets fresh fruit like apples, pears and oranges. I don't know if you want to avoid things like chips; they don't really offer any nutritional value or help to fill a kid up.

Gogurt and Gogurt Protein. Throw in the freezer, take out in the morning and it's ok for lunch according to the website. Kids do like it and it's easy. It had just come out when my kids were in elementary school and they loved the limited offerings. There are several varieties and many more flavors now.

MzMolly65 said:

There's those squeezie fruit snacks .. don't know the name but they're pure fruit, no added sugar in a squishy pouch. Hubby's a trucker and I send those in his pocket for a quick energy snack that's easy to eat and no mess.

Sometimes Dollar store has good snackie things.

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Fruit rollups! Nasty little things to me but the kids love them.

You can also donate Juiceable-type juices which contain vegetable and fruit juices. These come in individual cartons or packages.

Do the foods have to be packaged in individual servings? You'd get more bang for your buck with large jars of nuts, etc.

I would ask the school directly what the rules are for such food items. For example, do fruits have to be refridgerated? If not, then you could give a bunch of bananas, a bag of apples, etc each week.

The most efficient choice might be to give the money directly to a program that will provide the lunches.

Dennis said:

Fruit rollups! Nasty little things to me but the kids love them.

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Did you think the fruit squeezie things I was talking about are fruit rollups? If so, .. no .. the ones I buy are actual fruit puree in a squeeze pouch. They don't taste like fresh fruit but they're as close as you can to real fruit that won't go bad if left on the shelf for weeks. They're the consistency of pudding or yoghurt.

Fruit rollups are those super sweet, dried fruit .. fly paper, sticky thingies.

Don't you love my descriptions? Heck .. I can't even understand myself sometimes.

MzMolly65 said:

Did you think the fruit squeezie things I was talking about are fruit rollups? If so, .. no .. the ones I buy are actual fruit puree in a squeeze pouch. They don't taste like fresh fruit but they're as close as you can to real fruit that won't go bad if left on the shelf for weeks. They're the consistency of pudding or yoghurt.

Fruit rollups are those super sweet, dried fruit .. fly paper, sticky thingies.

Don't you love my descriptions? Heck .. I can't even understand myself sometimes.

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Perfect description.

I know the squeeze pouch thingy you're talking about. I can see it in my small brain but the name won't clear up. Drat. They also make sqeeze pouch smoothies, same brand.

I've found those squeeze pouch things at Big Lots for less than half of what Publix charges.

There are chocolate milk boxes that don't require refridgeration.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZT12NK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

what about fruit and veggies? or fruit leather?

Along with the chocolate milk that doesn't need refrigeration, there are single packs of soy or almond milk that doesn't as well.

Thank you for doing this, and I agree to try and send the healthiest most nutritional food you can find. Junk food IS better that no food at all, but for kids who can't afford lunch at school they're also only getting junk at home since its the cheapest to purchase.

When I was growing up, my friends parents used to pack extra food in their lunches for me. And when they got new clothes each school year, they'd pack up the old ones for me. It was SO incredibly helpful and to this day I appreciate it so much and kind of want to cry thinking back. I've also been homeless as an adult, and had people bring me food. And needed to use food banks. Most of the food is prepackaged junk because its cheap and lasts. Once when I was living in my car this man would come by every morning on his way to work to drop off a little baggy to me, cold yogurt and cheese sticks, fruit like apples and oranges.

Try to find canned/individually packaged fruit thats in light syrup or no syrup at all. Low sugar real grain cereal bars, healthy granola bars with nuts... They sell individual cups of peanut butter that you can dip fresh fruit into. Mixed nuts without added sugars, maybe even the low salt versions. If you can give fresh fruit and vegetables that would be much preferable over the processed versions!

I would strongly suggest talking to the principal and/or teacher to see what they recommend.

And I would also agree with finding something healthy if you can. Talk to local grocery stores about putting together a food drive. I know that one of our local stores asks for food donations then packages them together and one day a week they are set on a table the the hallway at school.

Often there are fresh dairy products there as well, organic milk that is within a few days of expiration, same with yogurts, cottage cheese, etc.

It is shocking how much food is thrown away in our country.

I want to thank each and every one of you for sharing your advice, and especially your personal experiences. Lin, I am so grateful to that gentlemen who brought you breakfast each morning; I have great respect for the people on this forum, and I've admire your thoughtful, and informative posts. I've had a couple situations in adulthood, where if it hadn't been for the generosity of others, I would have been homeless too.

I can't address each of you individually; 1. I don't know how...(got to look into how to quote many people in one post!) 2) I'm tired. The little one was sick with a head cold/ then a double ear infection, then a school play and tomorrow is another homeschool day....6 hours of getting a first grader to focus on learning in her own home. (Actually, I LOVE it! So grateful for this school as it is project based learning instead of WORKSHEETS).

I am putting all of your ideas into motion; I have the principals email address so I can get a better grip on how much of a problem hunger is at this school, and just exactly what kind of food can be donated. I mean, if 6 kids need a solid lunch each day; I will make 6 lunches myself.

And I'll look into the churches (the school rents space from a church for heaven's sake) and see about maybe people sponsoring food packets for the family!!! Maybe some lunch supplies can be sent home to families who need them.

I will also see what are the healthiest choices that can be given to the school's "snack" supply. I does pain me to know that the crappiest food is the cheapest.

I mean, if I can find a small refrigerator on Craig's list, maybe the school can accept yogurts and cheese sticks. (Wait a minute....the church has a kitchen - wouldn't they let the school keep food in there???)

Oh! I'm excited now! There must be a better way to feed the kids other than Easy Mac and peanut butter crackers!

And I bet some of the kids need breakfast too.

Thanks for caring everyone!

Oh, I'd like to recommend the documentary 'A Place at the Table' warning though, it will probably make you cry. It discusses hunger in the united states along with the programs set up to help like food stamps, private food pantries and soup kitchens. It was SO touching to watch, and many of the things hit home for me. I've received so much help (by complete strangers! Another example from when I was living in my car, a woman would come by and collect my laundry and wash it and bring it back to me) and try to pay things forward. Food pantries can operate in many different ways, one frequent way is to just have a bag of food options already packed. I personally dislike this method, because I have dietary restrictions and am also a vegetarian. So I pass back along what I can't use. One time I was actually driving home from the food pantry when I saw a homeless man at a corner with a sign. I stopped and offered him the food I knew I wouldn't eat. Sometimes you really don't know, and I have been taken advantage of before when giving cash, but as I drove away I could see him in my mirrors opening up the canned fruit and eating it immediately. He must have been starving I've had unfortunate times, but even then I was still very lucky and had many advantages that others do not. Things could have been so much worse.