Holy Trinity Episcopal helping Western Elementary feed kids

With school in session, Blessings in a Backpack preparations are in the works. That is the only national organization dedicated to feeding kids on the weekend. A woman leading one of the programs is part of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

"We got started in this because we didn't just want to write a check and pay for the food. We wanted to get involved." Lisa Estes-Cheatham said.

Estes-Cheatham is a key member at the church, a place that is very active in the Blessings in a Backpack program.

She is among those playing a crucial role in feeding hungry children on the weekend, and team members send a clear message about their drive to meet this critical need in their community.

"The people that are working with me, the volunteers, they're like, 'when are we getting started, when are we going to do it,'" Estes-Cheatham added.

For Estes-Cheatham and her team, that starts up again about two to three weeks from now.

"We pick up food at Meijer in Hamburg, and we pay for all the food with the church funds whether it be donations or the actual church trust," Estes-Cheatham noted.

Once a month, food is picked up, and this area of the church is full of food that is ready to be packed.

"We don't use backpacks because the kids would never bring the backpacks back, from years ago, so we use these bags and put six items in the bag," Estes-Cheatham said.

Five or six women come in every other week to pack the bags. Two men go get the food at Meijer.

"And then I have a husband and a wife that come and pick up the bins to help deliver them to Western Elementary." Estes-Cheatham added.

That's over the course of Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, the school's family resource officer disperses to those in need with the motto that the "food provided removes all barriers so the student can engage in normal activity."

Estes-Cheatham credits the strong support from her church, citing this example from the days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"With masks and gloves, we still packed and the family resource person delivered those bags to the students even though school was not in session, so I thought that was pretty phenomenal," Estes-Cheatham said.

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church is able to provide these services to 69 students. While the church pays to feed 27 students at Western Elementary, donations through the church pay to feed 42 other students at the school.