Beginning with the first week in January, Littrell and about 20 volunteers plan to implement a Backpack Buddies program at the Carroll County school. Each Friday, the local group will send backpacks with three to four “pop-top” meals, snacks and juices to 20 Oakland Elementary students, ensuring they get the nutrition they need over the weekend. Littrell said it is a modest start, but she hopes it will spark interest to grow the program at Oakland and in other schools in the county.
“We will probably expand it to include more students at Oakland, but we wanted to start with 20 to see how manageable it is. It is our hope that other community groups would help other schools in Carroll County if they are able to do so,” Littrell said. “Apparently there is a great need. If kids don’t have the right nutrition, then they don’t feel good, they don’t do well in school, and they don’t behave well. It is better for the kids and it helps them learn. We saw the need and we thought we would try to help in this way.”
Littrell said she learned about the national Backpack Buddies program through a local newspaper article recently that stressed the need for volunteers. After volunteering to help with the program in the Galax City School System, she realized the program was needed in Carroll as well.
“I went and it was just amazing. All I could think of was Oakland School because I live across the street from Oakland Methodist and we always try to do things for school children there,” Littrell said. “In the past we had done things like coats and Christmas Angels and donations of school supplies. But in these economic times, food seems to be really critical for a lot of families. We knew they were getting breakfast and lunch at school, but we didn’t know what their nutritional needs were outside of school.”
A talk with Oakland Elementary Guidance Counselor Kim Reitzel helped Littrell confirm the need for the program at the school. Reitzel has since identified 20 children in need to begin the program with, Littrell said, and permission slips will be sent home as parental permission is required.
When the program begins in January, Littrell said 20 Oakland students will be given a backpack. Each weekend, the backpack will be filled with three to four “pop-top” meals that require little or no preparation such as macaroni and cheese or beans and wieners. Juice, water and a fresh piece of fruit will also be included.
Littrell said Barbara Baxley and Clara Ward have been instrumental in helping start the program at Oakland Elementary. She said the group is using the same format as the Backpack Buddies program in Galax schools, which she said has grown from 30 students to about 140 in just a few months. She said students will get their backpacks on a Friday afternoon. They’ll be color-coded so the same student will get the same backpack each weekend. When they are returned the following Monday, the backpacks will be cleaned out and ready to go for the next Friday.
“And the backpacks look like any other school backpack, so there is no stigma to it,” Littrell said. “It is just a regular backpack and it is all confidential. We don’t know who’ll be getting them.”
As Littrell has been working with Oakland Methodist Church and other community volunteers, she said the local program has been able to raise $3,250 of donations from the community. The group has also identified a grocer willing to sell food toward the program at cost. Littrell said Backpack Buddies costs approximately $10 for a weekend supply for one child. She figures $4,000 will fund the 20 identified students for the rest of the school year, meaning the group needs about $750 more to complete its modest goal for this year.
“The $3,250 we have is not enough for the end of the year for the 20 children, but we think it is enough to start and we think more donations will come in if it grows, and I anticipate that it will. We want it to be manageable for the school and the guidance counselor is really receptive as is the principal, but if they observe a real need and feel it should grow, we’ll just go to the community and ask for more donations,” Littrell said. “All the donations will go to buying food. Oakland Ruritan Club gave a sizable donation as did the Twin County Antique Car Club.”
For now, Littrell said the group plans to store leftovers and backpacks at Oakland Methodist Church, who she said has been instrumental in helping her figure out a way to store the food. If the program grows, more resources may be needed, but that’s the least of her concerns for now.
“Everybody has been very supportive of the idea because I think they realize the need is there. When you think about hungry children, everybody wants to help,” she said, noting the Galax program has exploded, even sparking a similar program in Grayson County. “I think it does catch on. When I read the article in the paper, it just grabbed me, and when I went to helped I just knew we had to try it at Oakland. It just worked really well, and we are getting anxious to get started.”
Likewise, the administration at Oakland Elementary is excited about the work of Littrell and other volunteers. They feel like the program will be an instant success, and provide a much-needed service to the school’s youth.
“I am just inspired by her and her willingness to take this on herself. We’re just very thankful she is willing to do that,” Reitzel said. “With these economic times, everybody is hurting. We do have lots of families that are in need.”
Oakland Elementary Principal Junior Gentry said implementing the program at the school was an easy decision.
“With the economy the way it is, and a lot of families that are seeing a difficult time, this is going to be an opportunity for these children to have some supplies they may not otherwise have. We are just really thankful for this opportunity. We just look at this as another way that we can help some of our students and their families.”
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