Food bank has special
summer packages for kids
Staff writer
A car jammed full of hungry, towhead babies — 4-month-old twin girls and a 20-month-old boy — rolled out of the July heat into the shade of the Marion County Food Bank carport Monday.
Their mom and grandmother drove from Peabody for Similac infant formula the food bank offers.
“A lot of the time it’s a lifesaver — the formula, the diapers, and the toddler foods,” 23-year-old mother Abby said. She asked not to use her last name.
Food and other items specifically for children — in addition to shopping bags full of food staples given out to families — are part of food bank offerings that families sometimes don’t know about.
Gene Winkler, a volunteer who writes grant requests for the organization, reported to county commissioners last week the many ways the food bank has cobbled together goods that have served 5,032 people so far this year.
Aside from basic grocery bags of staples that a family can pick up every two weeks, food giveaways specifically for children are less well known, he said.
Outside the food bank, a sign advises parents to ask for cake kits for their children’s birthdays. The kits include a cake mix, ingredients to be added, candles, birthday napkins, and plates.
During the summer and other holiday breaks when schools are not feeding students, special kids’ meal bags with food enough for two or three meals that kids can prepare for themselves are given out, volunteer Jane O’Connor said.