Mac Pacs Prepares Food for Over 130 K-12 Students Weekly anon-Mac CANON-MAC SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
44 CANON-MAC
Mac Pacs is a food program that provides bags of food for over 130 Canon-McMillan School District students in all buildings .
Andrea DeFail and Kristin Stadler , two dedicated Canon-McMillan parents , along with Courtney Laskowski , a sixth-grade teacher at Cecil Intermediate School , have successfully expanded the program originally inspired by Blessings in a Backpack . Beginning at the elementary level , their efforts led to the implementation of the program across all nine Canon- McMillan buildings . This initiative is generously supported by funding from parent groups , individual donors , local businesses and organizations including the Salvation Army and the CM Horizon Foundation .
Parents sign up for the program at the start of the year , and all the information is entirely confidential between the guidance counselors and Mac Pacs coordinators , Laskowski and Tula Dziak , co-principal at Muse Elementary . The volunteers and coordinators crafted the process of strategically distributing the bags to ensure the recipients remain anonymous .
Volunteers pack the bags each week and then distribute them to all the K-12 buildings . Approximately 30 volunteer teachers and staff participate throughout the school year . Although the numbers vary , students typically receive about 15 non-perishable items weekly on Fridays to provide quick and easy access to food over the weekend . On Fridays , the procedure for distributing the bags differs between schools based on the student ' s age , but the Mac Pacs team ensures that the delivery is highly discreet .
“ The guidance counselors or nurses will hear that it really does make a difference . They hear kids saying , ‘ Now , I have something to eat if I ’ m hungry this weekend ,’” Laskowski said . “ We choose non-perishable and perfectly chosen items so they are easy to grab for kids regardless of age .”
Most recently , the Mac Pacs team sent out an Amazon wishlist with items to restock the care closets of each school ’ s nurse ’ s office . Within two days of the list going live , DeFail said that at least one of each item had been purchased — covering everything from soap , hand sanitizer and first-aid items to clean clothing , combs and a plethora of hygiene products .
“ It ’ s a whole community effort with our donations and food drives ,” DeFail said . “ My kids have packed these bags every week . It means a lot that my children could see that they were making an impact , too . You like to see that no kid will be hungry and worrying if they ’ ll make it to Monday breakfast at school from Friday night .”