The Penticton Starfish Pack program recently celebrated its local contributions to the provincial program feeding over 1,200 students in need every weekend during the school year.
The program began seven years ago with a single school in Abbotsford feeding six students. It has now grown to 18 B.C. communities serving 116 schools across the province.
The program has also begun in Washington State with Starfish Packs USA launching the program in Whatcom County.
Penticton’s Starfish Pack currently delivers 46 backpacks to local elementary schools. These backpacks feed approximately 100 children in Penticton each week.
Starfish Packs provides two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and snacks every Friday for local students who depend on in school breakfast or lunch programs during the week.
Each program is run by partnerships between local service clubs, non-profits, businesses and individuals.
At a cost of $525 per child over the full school year, all of locally donated dollars stay in the community and 100% of those funds are spent on purchasing food for local children.
“Thanks to the overwhelming support from local businesses and community individuals, our backpacks have increased from 10 to 46 and one school to five schools in one year,” said Tracy Van Raes, chair of Penticton Rotary’s Starfish Pack committee, in a news release. “We also couldn’t do it without the unwavering support of Randall Bamford and his team at Save-On Foods, who shops, packs the backpacks and gets them ready for us to deliver every week.”
Penticton Rotary is one of the partner groups in the local Starfish Pack program.
“We are still not in all of the schools yet and we will continue to grow the program,” said Van Raes. “There’s no reason why children in our community need to go hungry on the weekends.”
Local organizers are celebrating the 1,200 student provincial milestone, but say the work is far from done.
Provincially, approximately one in five children live in poverty and routinely go more than a full day without getting adequate calories for healthy living and growth, said Van Raes.
Experts point to a lack of food security for school age children as a significant factor in both academic success and future lifestyle, she said.
Children wondering about when they will eat next don’t learn as well as those who are fed, said Van Raes.
“The feedback we are getting from principals, teachers and families is that this initiative is making a difference,” she said. “For only $525, we can feed a child for a full school year and give them a proper start to the rest of their life. With the help of our community we are able to make a difference in the lives of children.”
The second annual Starfish Pack Fundraiser will be held at the Barley Mill Restaurant and Pub in Penticton on Thursday, Nov. 22 .
Tickets can be purchased from a Rotary Club of Penticton member or from the Barley Mill Pub.
All proceeds from this event go back to Starfish. Tickets are $25, which will get you a roast beef dinner and performance from the Roland Allen Rock Trio.
Last year’s fundraising event raised over $3,600 through ticket sales, raffles and donation.
For more information on the Penticton Starfish Pack program, click here.
