By Jo Bridges   |.  Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs

In Pagosa Springs, we believe no child should ever go hungry. Yet, the reality is that many children in our community face food insecurity. The Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs and Pagosa Springs Mountain Rotary Club have been working to combat this issue through our Feed Our Children program, which will begin its 15th year of providing weekend meals to families in need this August.

Last year, we served 40 families, involving 94 children, which wass our largest ever participation.

All public school children are provided a free breakfast and lunch each school day, a crucial service that ensures they have meals during the week. However, the need doesn’t stop when the school day ends.

The Feed Our Children program bridges this gap by supplying nutritious food to children every weekend throughout the school year. Each Thursday, third- and fourth-graders from participating families pick up backpacks at school, filled with food for all of the children in the family to enjoy over the weekend. Our goal is to help children return to school on Monday, happy, nourished, and ready to learn. This initiative complements the efforts of local food banks by providing additional food specifically chosen to appeal to children and requiring minimal preparation.