Fifteen years ago, Reisa George was teaching a ceramics class at Charles W. Duval Elementary School (now called Duval Early Learning Academy) when she noticed students were returning to the breakfast line multiple times. Unsettled, she asked one of the art teachers, Cheryl Conroy, why this was. The answer she received was not one she was expecting. It was a Monday morning, and for some of these children, it was likely their first meal since Friday.
Conroy also shared with George that the school had been starting a “half an hour late on Mondays because [kids] were going through the food line more than once,” George said.
She knew that something needed to be done.
Today, the program is called Rawlings Elementary Food4Kids Backpack Program and operates with 16 to 20 dedicated volunteers. They have never missed a week of providing food bags to students in need.
“This is something I can do that is very concrete and shows the direct effect of how we are touching the lives of children in need,” said Sandy Reimer, a retired United Church of Gainesville minister involved with the program.
Whitney Davis, the family liaison at Rawlings Elementary School, noted that especially for the first through third graders, almost every food bag is picked up before the weekend.
With many Rawlings’ students living below the poverty line and some facing homelessness, the program has become a critical lifeline.
“I was so impressed that [Rawlings Elementary Food4Kids Backpack Program] was picking out food that a 5-year-old could open themselves if they had to,” Violich said. “But the idea of a child having to fend for himself or herself is pretty, pretty overwhelming.”
Jackie Johnson, director of communications and community initiatives for the Alachua County Public Schools, said that 51.3% of students in Alachua County qualify for free or reduced meals, due to their families meeting federal income eligibility guidelines for low-income households.
Beyond just hunger, the program has also improved school attendance. “On the days we give out bags, attendance is higher,” Jess Archer, the current Rawlings Elementary Food4Kids Backpack Program director, said.
The demand for food bags is even more pressing as spring break approaches.
Archer highlighted concerns about the two-week gap when students will be without their food bags. The organization plans to provide extra food in the bags to help bridge the gap but it will still not be enough to hold the kids over, leaving many families struggling to find alternative sources of food.
With the help of congregational donations from UCG and county grants, including the Community Agency Partnership Program (CAPP) grant, the Rawlings Elementary Food4Kids Backpack Program has been able to stay afloat. However, funding dollars have changed as of this year.
For the past three years, the program has relied on county grants, including the CAPP grant, which provided around $25,000 per year. But as of October 2024, the program will now receive around $13,000 annually, for the next three years, from the county.
The CAPP grant comes from a county pot that is distributed accordingly to each organization depending on who applies for it each time around, Archer said. This means that every organization gets less money because the county just doesn’t have that much to give out.
“They take a percentage away from everybody,” Archer said, “because some people asked for so much money, it hurts everybody.”
According to Archer, with the majority of Rawlings students signed up for the program, additional funding is essential to sustain and expand it.
“We are always needing money,” Violich said. “[The program is] chasing grants all the time.”
According to a 2023 study by Census Reporter, 26.6% of Gainesville residents live below the poverty line and about 13% of those are children under the age of 18.
When George first launched the program with the help of minister Andy Bachmann, it was called United Church of Gainesville Food4Kids. The initiative launched with 60 Duval Elementary families, far surpassing the starting budget for half a dozen families. According to George though, the UCG has been nothing short of helpful in terms of funding.
“When you give a little, it blossoms,” George said. “In the right hands, with the right people … it just all blossoms.”
For the food bags provided to the children signed up for the program, George worked with nutritionist Tricia Gregory to ensure the food was healthy, meaning low in sugar and fat. Aside from the occasional and popular Slim Jims treats, most of the food items in the bags are nutritious.
“With some of the Slim Jims – those were a really hot item – there was like altercations on the playground fighting over Slim Jims,” Francesca Violich, a volunteer, said.
“That is just the reality of [food] scarcity,” Violich said. “And just kids being kids.”
Reflecting on the program’s journey as the former program director, “the parents always said thank you so much and children would walk up to us in the hallway and say thank you so much,” George said.
For the families and students being served by Rawlings Elementary Food4Kids Backpack Program, this has not only become a source of stability, but a source of hope.