A simple idea turns into food for needy kids and a Blessing in a Bag

Ty'Waun Booker, a 4th grade student at Miamisburg's Medlar View Elementary School, picks up his 'Blessings in a Bag' before school begins on Friday morning and slides it into his book bag. His smile says it all.

Contributed photo by William G. Schmidt Ty'Waun Booker, a 4th grade student at Miamisburg's Medlar View Elementary School, picks up his 'Blessings in a Bag' before school begins on Friday morning and slides it into his book bag. His smile says it all.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By William G. Schmidt, Contributing Writer 11:12 AM Thursday, October 14, 2010

Just a year ago, Alicia Kern, a Miamisburg resident, member of the St. James United Methodist Church and a retired teacher, started the Blessings in a Bag program. It’s designed to feed needy kids on weekends and holidays.

The idea was simple: collect food, bag it and deliver it to a couple of Miamisburg elementary schools.

What began with that simple idea and a few churches has mushroomed to 11 churches and every elementary school in the Miamisburg district.

While that’s a good thing, it adds pressure for the group to deliver.

In May, Kern brought all the churches together for a meeting. They were divided into three groups, each responsible for two elementary schools.

St. James United Methodist Church, Parkview United Methodist, Trinity United Church of Christ and the First Church of God collect for Mound and Medlar View Elementary.

Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic, St. Henry Catholic, Riverview Baptist and St. Jacobs Lutheran collect for Chance and Bear.

And the Miamisburg Assembly of God, Miamisburg Wesleyan and Seventh Day Adventist’s collect for Mark Twain and Bauer.

“I really wanted the churches to take their local schools, their neighborhood schools,” Kern said. “And pretty much we have.”

Kern’s group meets every other Monday to organize their food. It’s labeled and an expiration date is added. The food is then inventoried and shelved. The food is delivered to the schools on Thursdays and distributed on Fridays. Non-perishable food is always in demand. Kern said she’s particularly looking for Chef Boyardee products, macaroni and cheese (especially in cups), ramen noodles, pouches of tuna and the like. Food should be easy to open — pop top cans are especially desired - and easy for a child to prepare.

Sally Royer, social worker for the Miamisburg School district, said the program is important for needy kids. “It’s huge, it grew and it’s great,” she said.

To be eligible a child must be on the “free or reduced lunch” program.

Royer helps distribute the food and sees the need first hand. “It’s most exciting to watch the kids response,” she said.

Kern said each child gets ten items in each bag.

Kern’s group even instituted a summer program. Of the 82 eligible families, a dozen signed up. It’s where Kern got to meet a few of the kids.

“I loved them. They were wonderful children,” Kern said.

Dan Poffenberger, a volunteer with one of the teams, said, “The numbers have grown greatly and more community involvement would be great. We are currently struggling to meet the greater demand and would appreciate any and all assistance.”

Food items can be dropped off at any church listed. Monetary donations can be targeted to a single school or they will be divided equally among the three teams.

The Miamisburg Rotary and Lions Club is involved and the Mason Temple is joining, too.

Kern has produced a DVD explaining the program in detail.

Ron Holp with Ron’s Pizza, for instance, donates 3,500 crackers each month.

Royer said there are currently 470 children receiving food through the program. That represents just a third of those eligible.

When the shelves get low, Kern gets nervous. She knows there’s a needy kid waiting for his bag of food. “It’s a commitment,” she said. Kern can be reached at (937) 866-3105.

Contact this columnist at (937) 696-2080 or williamgschmidt@ frontier.com.

Share this article