Gene Dalton | The Roanoke Times

Melanie Collins, emergency assistants specialist, checks the stock of the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program’s pantry.

Percentages of students during the 2005-06 school year eligible for the Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program

• 35.53% Floyd County
• 36.96% Giles County
• 33.85% Montgomery County
• 40.11% Pulaski County
• 29.58% Radford
• 40.35% Wythe County
• 61.39% Roanoke
• 16.35% Roanoke County
• The Virginia locality with the highest eligibility was Buchanan County at 78.74 percent. Falls Church had the lowest at 7.49 percent.

Want to help?

• Drop off donations of canned food or other items at the MCEAP offices at 110 Roanoke St. in Christiansburg. Donations for the clothing bank should be taken to 409 Roanoke St.
• For more information about the USDA Summer Meals for Kids program, including requirements for opening a site in your area, visit fns.usda.gov.

Related

• Hunger & humility

It's a good thing that school will be back in session soon.

Although most children in the New River Valley cringe at the prospect of returning to days of classrooms and homework, there are some who eagerly walk through school doors for one reason.

For some, back to school means the end of hunger.

Support for those who help

When school's out, heads of low-income households find themselves under increased stress to provide for their children.

Summer signals the end of the free and reduced-price meal programs that provide breakfast and lunch for many students in kindergarten through 12th grade. At the same time, federal food stamps and other government assistance do not increase.

The Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program in Christiansburg is one of many nonprofit organizations affected during the summer. The agency, founded in 1975 by the Rev. Harry Scott, has a food pantry that helps to feed families that qualify for assistance.

Clients wanting access to the pantry must provide verification of income, proof of a Montgomery County address and Social Security numbers for each family member. Additionally, the shelves in the foyer of MCEAP are filled every weekday with bread and pastries donated by Kroger and delivered by volunteers. These items are up for grabs to anyone.

"We try to make it an environment where people feel encouraged to get back on their feet," said Carol Johnson, executive director of the New River Family Shelter, whose offices are located in the same building as MCEAP.

Johnson provides temporary housing for homeless families. Her clients also use the food pantry, which helped to feed 496 families in 2005.

But this year, a host of issues has left the pantry in need of restocking. A major source of struggle is a lack of funding from a Virginia Tech fraternity, which raised nearly $11,000 for the pantry in 2005 but has yet to donate anything this year. Melanie Collins, emergency assistance specialist at MCEAP, said the fraternity's previous donations bought not only food, but also diapers, baby formula and other items not covered by food stamps.

The annual National Association of Letter Carriers food drive, which took place May 13, brought in approximately 6.5 tons of food, but only cans of corn and green beans remain, Collins said.

"It was personally bothering me a whole lot," Collins said.

As a single mother of four children, she can empathize with the plight of her clients, many of whom are single parents who have to choose between paying for either rent or food each month.

Although the pantry isn't in the best shape, having a shortage of "kid-friendly" items was one of her biggest concerns. Meals that children can fix without using the stove or other kitchen equipment are in especially high demand.

These items have become so scarce in the pantry that Collins hoards goodies like Pop-Tarts and juice boxes.

"If you don't have a child in your family, I'm just not going to give you certain items," she said.

Making ends meet

Rachel Shepherd is one of the pantry's newest clients. The 28-year-old is in temporary housing provided by the New River Family Shelter with her husband, Matt, her 16-month-old son, Ethan, and her 7-year-old daughter, Hannah. When asked how the summer has been for her family, Shepherd shook her head. She admitted that she's been visiting the agency several times a week this summer.

She receives food stamps, "but with two kids, it goes really fast," she explained as she watched Ethan scoot across the floor of MCEAP's foyer. Even though he is finished with baby formula, which can be as expensive as $30 a can, Shepherd said her son goes through a gallon of milk every few days.

"It's almost cheaper to just buy a cow at that rate," she said.

With Ethan needing constant care and Hannah missing the free breakfast and lunch at Falling Branch Elementary School during the school year, Shepherd has spent the summer struggling to provide three meals a day.

Making things more difficult is the fact that neither child is an accommodating eater. Fruit and vegetables are almost always a no-no, with macaroni and cheese and hot dogs being preferred. Cereal and juice boxes from the pantry are hot commodities.

However, things are looking up for Shepherd. Johnson said she expects to see the family back on its feet soon.

Shepherd, a full-time student at New River Community College, will resume her studies in early childhood development this month. Her husband starts work in the dining hall at Virginia Tech in the next few weeks.

Still, Shepherd worries about the future, wondering how she will send her children to college when the time comes.

"These days you can't go anywhere without a college education," said Shepherd. "They're both so smart."

Another respite

MCEAP and the New River Family Shelter aren't the only programs that offer summer relief for low-income children in the New River Valley.

The USDA-sponsored Summer Meals for Kids Program is available in Virginia counties in which at least 50 percent of the students in a given school qualify for the free or reduced lunch program.

Frances Sutphin, supervisor of food services for Pulaski County Public Schools, started the program five years ago to provide meals for students attending summer school.

"There are so many children in our area, especially in the lower-income housing development areas" that benefit from the summer program, Sutphin said.

Pulaski and Critzer elementary schools both meet the 50 percent eligibility mark. Because site data extends a number of miles out, Pulaski County High School and Snowville Elementary School are also included.

Pulaski and Critzer elementary schools are open, meaning that children younger than 18 in neighborhoods near each school can eat during the day, even if they are not enrolled in summer school.

Three years ago, Sutphin handed the reins to Ethelene Sadler, school nutrition specialist for Pulaski County High School. Sadler estimated that the school served an average of 850 to 900 meals daily this summer.

"I love the program because for one thing, you reach out to these children that you know are getting a balanced meal at breakfast and lunch, and that's important to me," Sadler said.

As administrator of the program, Sadler is responsible for preparing a budget to cover food cost, supplies and staff pay. For this summer, Sadler estimated a budget of $77,000.

Connie Wood, site supervisor at Critzer Elementary School who has worked in food service for 14 years, said the children who eat during the summer tend to waste less food than those who eat during the school year.

"Sometimes the food we serve them is the only meal that they get all day," Wood said.

At 12 years and counting, Montgomery County has the longest-running relationship with the program.

This summer, breakfast and lunch were available for summer school students at Auburn, Falling Branch, Kipps and Elliston-Lafayette elementary schools, along with Christiansburg and Shawsville middle schools.

Michael Marcenelle, supervisor of Montgomery County Public School nutrition and administrator of the summer meal program, estimated that his program fed about 1,000 children a day this summer with a budget of $83,237.

"It gives [parents] peace of mind that if their children are enrolled in these programs, they're being fed and it's something they don't have to worry about," he said.