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Local employees donate to backpack program
Thanks in large part to a hefty donation from a group of employees at Mercy Health Center, grade school and middle school children in Fort Scott and Uniontown will have plenty to eat on the weekends throughout the school year.
On Monday, a group of about 54 Mercy employees presented donations totaling $5,334 to the Kansas Food Bank for Independence's weekend food backpack program. The purpose of the program is to feed local children who are not being regularly fed and are often referred to as "chronically hungry."
This is the third year of the program which gives hungry children backpacks filled with nonperishable food to take home on Fridays. This year counselors at Fort Scott Middle School, Eugene Ware Elementary School, Winfield Scott Elementary School and West Bourbon Elementary School in Uniontown identified 57 students who meet the criteria for the program.
Kansas Food Bank board member Bob Marshall said, with Mercy's donation, the total raised so far this year is close to $7,000, which, he added, is enough to feed all 57 students. Marshall said it costs about $120 to provide for each student throughout the year.
Marshall said he is very impressed with the community's participation and donations.
"Bourbon County and Fort Scott have done so much better than any other city or county in this state," Marshall said. "That just shows the compassion that people in this area have for our children."
Jon Swope, president and CEO of Mercy Health System of Kansas, said Mercy employees are proud to play such a big role in helping to feed the area's youth. This year's donation is up significantly from the $2,784 the employees donated last year.
"This is a wonderful program which addresses Mercy's focus on providing for those among us who are the most vulnerable, and clearly, the children of Bourbon County will benefit for this program," Swope said.
Larry Gunkel, coordinator of the backpack program for the Kansas Food Bank, visited Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott to accept their donation.
According to the Kansas Food Bank, children who are underfed can often be identified by both physical and behavioral indicators. Chronically hungry children tend to show impatience for a meal to be served and will eat any food available.
Physical features, like swollen skin, protruding bones, cracked lips or redness around the lips, and dry, itchy eyes can all indicate diet deficiencies. However, weight is not always a clear indicator, according to the Kansas Food Bank.
Kansas Food Bank's Independence facility is a subsidiary of the Kansas Food Bank parent organization in Wichita and an affiliate of America's Second Harvest. Marshall, a former member of the Mercy Health Center Foundation as well as the Kansas Food Bank in Independence, is the local contact for those individuals who wish to support the program. For more information or to make a donation, call Marshall at (620) 223-2700, ext. 523 or (620) 223-3516.