This Wednesday, October 19th, students at USFSP packed bags of food for over 200 children from a local elementary school. USFSP’s Campus Community Church (CCC) teamed up with Impact Pinellas’ “Pack a Snack” program to pack bags with food to give to elementary school students who receive free or reduced price meals at school, but do not have food on the weekends.
These children can get breakfast and lunch at school for little to no cost, which is a huge relief to many parents. However, once they leave school, many children are not getting enough food or even go without food altogether.
About 15 percent of Pinellas County citizens fall at or below the poverty line with about 50 percent of those being families with children, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Within the first hour, CCC’s goal of 100 bags was reached and the donated food supplies ran out. Students passing by the booth were disappointed that they were unable to help, so CCC’s faculty advisor Jesse Strong drove back to Impact Pinellas to get more supplies so students could keep packing.
Campus Community Church will continue to work with Impact Pinellas as a part of their service groups, which they encourage USFSP students to participate in if they feel the need to serve the community, regardless of religious beliefs.
Thanks to this event and USFSP’s students, 200 children in Pinellas County will have something to eat this weekend.
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