Mrs. Melnik's Blog: Arlington EATS

Dear fellow-Thompson families,

Did you know…

that 11% of students in Arlington qualify to receive free and reduced price breakfast and lunch meals during the school year?
that the number of Thompson students receiving free and reduced price breakfast and lunch is over 2 ½ times the town-wide number?
that during the 10 weeks of summer vacation, qualifying families need to replace 100 meals for each of their children who are typically provided free or reduced price breakfast and lunch ?

that summer is one of barest times of year for food pantries? While the food pantry may be overflowing at Thanksgiving, the shelves remain lean during the summer.

There are many people in our community working on these issues (stop me on the playground and ask me to describe the lengths that Vicki Rose goes to for all of our children), but with all the goodwill and generosity of Arlington camps, an Interfaith Church Coalition, community groups and individuals, we still don’t have a clear idea how we are going to make sure children in Arlington have enough to eat this summer. So, we’re putting the word out and hoping that you can help.

Here is how you can support our kids through a program we have branded as Arlington EATS (Eat All Through Summer):

$1 will provide a breakfast for a child
$3 will provide a lunch for a child
$20 will provide a child with two meals a day for a week
$100 will provide a child with two meals a day for half the summer
$200 will provide a child with two meals a day for the entire summer

Can you donate a dollar? Can you donate more? If so, there are several easy ways you can help:

Drop your quarters and dollars in an Arlington EATS box at the Thompson front desk.
Write a check to “The Thompson Family Fund” (with ‘Arlington EATS’ in the memo line) and send it to school.
Contribute with a credit card via PayPal right now by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ArlingtonEATS

And beyond donations, there are several other ways you can help.

Forward this email or talk to your friends and neighbors about these issues. Just because someone doesn’t have a child in the Arlington School System, doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in helping.
Volunteer your time at the Feast of the East festival THIS Saturday to fundraise for summer lunches and offer a fun craft for children. Click here to sign up for a slot.
Join our newly-founded group to work on these issues and more. Our first goal is raising money for summer lunches but that is just the beginning. Bring your time and your gifts and together, we can make a difference in our community.