Amherst Cares

Amherst Cares

50% of students in Amherst County are on free/reduced meals.

Several schools have free/reduced lunch population of 70-74%.

What happens to these students on the weekends and school vacations?

Disposable plastic bags are used to send home food.

Bins of food are delivered by community members to

Middle Schools.

Amherst Middle School Student Leadership Team members pack bags of food to be placed in student lockers

Food items are similar to those used in Feed America Backpack Program

Food recipients are known only to key school personnel

For the 2011-2012 school year, Amherst Cares has grown to serve our 2 middle schools and 5 of our elementary schools.

Number of students being directly served by Amherst Cares:

109 Middle School students

= Total 263154 elementary school students

As part of our educational outreach program 65 additional elementary students take home food.

A total of 328 students in Amherst County receive food each weekend.

Community members pack bags for delivery to elementary schools.

As a model for community service, the schools have become involved in helping their own.

Guidelines of Amherst Cares•Program is designed to meet the needs of the individual school with personnel within the school selecting the participants•Names of students participating are kept strictly confidential and known only to key school personnel.• Items are not be labeled in any way to indicate who donated them•Each student is given a letter explaining the program and parent signature is required before any food is sent home.•Parents must indicate any known food allergies.

More nutritious, child friendly, nonperishable, easily consumed foods are being sent home each weekend:

Pull-top cans of ravioli, spaghetti, lasagna, chiliRamen noodlesSmall fruit cups (unsweetened)Small cups of applesauce (unsweetened)Packs of peanut butter/cheese crackers (whole grain crackers)Pop tarts (not iced)Juice boxes (100% juice) 25% reduced sugar Capri SunsBags of cereal (whole grain)Individual packets of instant oatmealSmall jars of peanut butter (sent once monthly)*Toothbrushes*Tubes of toothpaste

*These items are sent quarterly.  

Costs

•$20 per month to feed 1 student

•$200 per year to feed 1 student

Includes food each weekend of school year and

•Double packing of food on all school holidays

•Efforts made to deliver food to students if inclement weather is forecast

•Feed students 4 times during the summer months

AMHERST CARESC/O Emmanuel United Methodist Church

P. O. Box 451Amherst, Virginia 24521