Community partnership helps

Ensure SeDoMoCha Elementary students don’t go hungry   

By Stuart Hedstrom

Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Ten shopping carts full of healthy foods were wheeled from the Morton Avenue Municipal Building across Harrison Avenue to the SeDoMoCha School by members of the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis on the morning of Oct. 16. The food items were divided into backpacks to be distributed to students in need in kindergarten through grade 4 through the Kiwanis backpack program, which is in place both during the school year and the summer months.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

BACKPACKS FULL OF FOOD — Members of the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis delivered 10 shopping carts containing backpacks stuffed with healthy foods to help feed students in grades K-4 as part of the organization’s backpack program. A partnership involving several area businesses and organizations provides about $8,500 worth of food, purchased at cost through Will’s Shop ‘n Save in Dover-Foxcroft, through 16 deliveries across the school year. From left is Kiwanis Immediate Past President Bob Moore, Darlene Emery, Eddie Lewis, SeDoMoCha School Nurse Emily Poland, SeDoMoCha School Principal Julie Kimball, Kiwanis President Dennis Lyford, Pat Ryan, Kiwanis Vice President and Will’s Shop ‘n Save owner Will Wedge, Kiwanis Treasurer Barbara Moore and Dave Clukey.

“There’s about 700 pounds of food here,” said Will Wedge, vice president of the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis and the owner of Will’s Shop ‘n Save in Dover-Foxcroft, as the 10 shopping carts were delivered to SeDoMoCha Principal Julie Kimball and School Nurse Emily Poland. Wedge said through several grants and other funding sources about $8,500 is earmarked for the backpack program and these monies are used to distribute food 16 times during the school year, resulting in a total of over 11,000 pounds of food being given to prevent the students from going hungry.

Wedge and Kiwanis Treasurer Barbara Moore explained part of the $8,500 for the backpack program comes from a Bangor Savings Bank Foundation Community Matters More grant awarded to the club, another portion is from the Maine Highlands Federal Credit through the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger, the Piscataquis Regional YMCA in Dover-Foxcroft gave a financial contribution to the endeavor through another grant and the Kiwanis also funds part of the program.

“It’s quite a community event,” Wedge said, as the businesses and nonprofit organizations work together to “really make this a special event for the school.”

He said Kiwanis President-elect Deb Somers is “the point person” for the backpack program. “Deb and I work together and Will’s Shop ‘n Save sells the food at cost,” Wedge said. The backpacks recipients have many healthy food options to choose from, including bananas, apples, raisins, fruit bars with real fruit, fruit cups, canned vegetables, apple sauce, beans, peanut butter and jelly, hot cereal, macaroni and cheese and SpaghettiOs.

“Each child is receiving approximately $8.75 in food,” Wedge said about the Oct. 16 delivery, with each backpack containing about 10 pounds of food for the students to take home.

“To our families it’s just very much appreciated,” Kimball said after the backpacks were brought inside and the emptied shopping carts were pushed back across the street. “The feedback we get is they can’t say enough to the Kiwanis.”

Kimball said the food, which can help on long weekends, is very much appreciated by the students and families. Thanking the Kiwanis she said, “It means a lot to them and it means a lot to us to have that support.”

Before departing the Kiwanis members received a thank you from the four kindergarten classes. The young students and their teachers headed outside through the back door and walked around to the front of the building where they lined up to wave and thank those who had dropped off the backpacks full of healthy food.

For more information on contributing time and/or funds to the backpack program, please contact Darlene Emery at 343-1173.