VANESSA BAILEY 2021-10-26 22:08:45
Lovepacs seeks to end student hunger
The nonprofit serves Denton County school districts by providing food during school breaks and holidays for the families of children receiving free or reduced-cost lunches.
The truckload of boxes slated for delivery to the local elementary school is filled with shelf-stable favorites, like macaroni and cheese, popcorn and granola bars. But what the boxes really hold is hope. The team of Lovepacs volunteers knows that the delivery of these items will ensure that students in need don’t go hungry over long breaks from school.
Their mission to end insufficient nutrition began as a small group of parents providing food assistance over the Thanksgiving break for six children in The Colony in southern Denton County. It has grown to one of the largest student-focused supplemental nutrition organizations in the state, serving more than 6,000 students across 195 schools in North Texas, including 14 school districts in Denton County.
Lovepacs volunteers partner with school counselors who identify the number of students in need at each school. The children’s names are never shared and all recipients receive confidential assistance to protect their privacy.
Autumn Chavez, Lovepacs executive director, is a mom on a mission. “I got involved seven years ago through my son’s basketball team, which was volunteering to pack boxes in Little Elm, and I fell in love with the organization,” Chavez said. Lovepacs is unique in that it encourages whole families to volunteer together. There are no age requirements for youth volunteers, and kids as young as 2 years old have joined in the fight to end hunger for students across North Texas.
“I want to raise my children to be able to bless others, and to be kind, loving humans who know how to give back,” Chavez said.
Longtime volunteer Christina Wade has served behind the scenes since the very beginning. “I wanted to volunteer but not have face-to-face contact with those we serve, because it’s too emotional for me,” she said. “Lovepacs equipped me to do that by collecting donations from friends and family.”
COVID-19 school closures forced a pivot in the way Lovepacs reached students, and volunteers scrambled to create pick-up sites and drive-through food relief events. Last summer, Wade served students directly for the first time. Volunteering one day, she heard two 7-year-olds share that the Lovepacs boxes kept them from being hungry while their parents worked.
“As a mom, the thought of any child going hungry is unthinkable,” Wade said. “To be able to help bridge the hunger gap for these kids is something that every mom should experience.”
To learn more about the program, and how to donate or volunteer, go to Lovepacs.org.
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