Backpack program seeks donations

From Staff Reports

West Side Baptist Church in Atlanta is seeking donations for its Blessings in a Backpack program.
The program provides food to more than 120 needy school children in the Atlanta, Bloomburg and Queen City areas. 
Staff members from the participating schools identify students who don’t have an adequate supply of food for the weekend. 
This food is non-perishable, nourishing, cost-effective and easily prepared by the child. 
School teachers give  Blessings in a Backpack volunteers a count as to the number of children in need of packaged food supplies. There is no application process, and the children’s name remain anonymous.  
The ministry relies on the money donated by people in the community to purchase the food. For $5, the program can provide food for one student for the weekend or about $180 for the school year per student. 
Each Thursday,  the food is delivered to the participating schools  in plastic bags, and then discreetly put into each needy child’s backpack to be eaten over the weekend.
“By providing this food, these children come to school better prepared to learn and more likely to grow into sustainable positive lifestyles,” Melinda Johnson said. 
“A hungry child is less likely to comprehend and understand class lessons.  Studies show that they could possibly become underdeveloped if proper nutrients are not administered into the body during young growth periods.  
“Many of these children look forward to Monday mornings to return to school for early morning breakfast and to know they will also have lunch that day. 
“Now that the BLAST program is not available in our local school, many of these children will be going without an evening snack or food.”
Monitory donations can be mailed to West Side Baptist Church, 712 W Main St. Atlanta TX, 75551. Please write “backpack” in the memo area of the check. 
For more information, contact Johnson at 903-691-9852 or call the church office at 903-796-3279.