Dear fellow Thompson parents,
One of the things that I've been most excited to help implement at Thompson is having snacks available for any kid who is hungry during the day. I hear from many teachers and administrators that behavior problems have decreased this year and that kids are able to better concentrate in class.
For any family who is relieved at not having to worry about this expense, we are so thrilled to be helping. We are also happy that there is an extra supply of snacks for kids who usually bring one from home but may forget sometimes. We all do that!
But maybe your kid is like my second grader who I recently learned has been ignoring the snack in his backpack so he can go get a snack at the front desk. As he says, "they just taste better when Ms. Vicki gives them to me". I can't blame him, I'm pretty crazy about Ms. Vicki myself.
At the moment we are giving out over 400 snacks per week just at Thompson which has quickly become the most expensive part of our program*. We do not want to question kids who say they are hungry and need a snack, so we are inviting parents to talk to their kids about the program and why EATS is working so hard to be sure there is food in school. I sat down with my second grader this weekend and had a great talk about EATS, the snack program and hunger in our community. He promises me he won't ignore his backpack snack anymore. :-)
Would you like to help further? Here are some ways you can get involved!
- Next time you are at the grocery store, grab a snack from our approved list and give it to Ms. Vicki (Fruit, Wheat Thins, Gogurts, Cheese sticks, Nutrigrain bars and Roasted Seaweed--the surprising item that we can't keep in stock!)
- Sign up to help with a snack-prep shift with Lisa Blankespoor or help with the Weekend bags sometime between 1:30 - 4:00 on Fridays.
- Join our shopping team. We will email the group and ask if anyone is going to Costco/Market Basket,etc in the next few days and then we send a list of items we need. You buy the items, deliver to Thompson and we reimburse your costs. Email me if interested.
- Would you like to get involved but don't know how? Join us for a brainstorming session this Saturday or sometime in April. Email me for more information.
Thank you all for making the Thompson community such an amazing place!
Lauren Ledger and the EATS Steering Committee
*Much of the food we distribute on weekends is sourced by the incredible Nicole Melnik and Dana DeVeau for free through our amazing community partners (Food Link, Food for Free, the Arlington Food Pantry/Boston Food Bank). Snacks are something that are hard to find in those channels and thus we do a lot of shopping at Costco!
