Rotary Sends Needy Kids Home With Food

The bell rang at 3 p.m. Friday, releasing a stream of screaming elementary school kids for the weekend — a time for play, friends and perhaps a little trouble. But for some kids, there's more to worry about. 

A hunger program spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Rohnert Park-Cotati that launched Sept. 23 sent 72 kids from John Reed Elementary home with enough food to cook at least one healthy meal for four people.

Dubbed the "Backpack Program," the idea is to fill the gap between school weekday lunches by sending kids home with a bag of fresh produce, a protein, a starch, and once in a while a treat, to feed a family over the weekend.

"It's so amazing — the teachers say the kids come back to school on Monday with so much more energy; they're focused and way less hyper," said Arianne Eskew, a member of Rotary who helped organize this year's program. "Despite our economy, there's no excuse for kids to go hungry."

Kids, as young as 5 years old, lined up outside a vacant classroom Friday to take home thier bag of brown rice, tuna, tomatoes, plums, green apples and carrots.

"John Reed has the biggest need," Eskew said. "It really is amazing what nutritious food can do for kids."

Although this week's delivery included just John Reed, next week 48 kids at Waldo Rohnert Elementary will get food for the weekend, and by the end of October, Rotary hopes to get a new delivery started at Thomas Page Elementary in Cotati.

The idea started three years ago, with another Rotary club in northern California.

"We thought it was such a good idea, that we organized the funding and started one here," Eskew said.

Each week, Mike Pastryk, president of the Rotary Club of Rohnert Park-Cotati takes his business delivery truck from Liberty Valley Doors, picks up the food at the Redwood Empire Food Bank, and delivers it to the respective school.

Volunteers from Rotary, Sonoma State University's JUMP (Join Us Making Progress) program and local PTAs then help bag and deliver the food to the kids.

Pastryk said this year, with three schools, total cost is expected to be $10,000, which is paid for by food bank grants, fundraising by Rotary and donations.

"We're all about helping out the community," said Jamilla Dozier, the director of hunger and homelessness for JUMP at Sonoma State. "We want to do everything we can to make sure no kids go hungry."

Editor's note: "The Backpack Program" is in need of reusabe shopping bags, brown paper bags with handles and monetary donations to help keep the program going. Donations can be made at any Exchange Bank in the name of Rotary Backpack Food Program. If you have extra shopping bags you'd like to donate, email Angela Hart at angela.hart@patch.com or mikep@libertyvalleydoors.com.