CCSD, agencies strive to provide hungry kids with nutritious food

Virginia Beck, registered dietitian with the Clark County School District food service department, knows that, because of the federally assisted National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, every child who attends school in the district can get lunch -- and many get breakfast as well -- on every day school is in session.

It's the days in between that concern her.

"There are, unfortunately, children in our community for whom the last meal on Friday is lunch, and they don't get anything else until breakfast on Monday," Beck said.

Enter community organizations, most notably Three Square and Chefs for Kids, that provide food to help fill those gaps. Three Square currently has three programs for the district's children, noted John Livingston, the food bank's chief operating officer.

The BackPack for Kids program began in 2008 in 10 schools, Livingston said, and during the past school year served 5,300 children in more than 200 schools. During the next year, he said, 7,000 kids will be involved.

Here's how it works: Using donations, Three Square buys food that kids can serve themselves, with or without heating it. With the help of nutritionists from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, they've formulated a list of 11 items, which volunteers pack into handled plastic bags and deliver to the schools. Staff at the various schools, he said, have identified children in need, and every Friday afternoon, those students are directed to a room where they're given the bags to put into their backpacks to sustain them over the weekend. Among the foods are beans and franks, beef stew or chili, cereal, shelf-stable milk, and cheese and crackers. All of the foods arrive in pop-top containers and the kids even get plastic utensils.

Then there's Neighbors for Nutrition, Three Square's summer food service program. Working with the school district and the Culinary Training Academy, the food bank identified 44 feeding sites operated by 14 sponsors; the sites could be recreation centers, churches or day camps, all approved by the Nevada Department of Education. Three Square produces the meals, which Livingston said fills another gap.

"During the summer, where do they go?" he asked. "There are not a lot of options, so they're not sure where their next meal is coming from. Going into next year, when 12-month schools end, there will be 65,000 more students out there. We know that the need is going to be greater."

The newest program is Kids Cafe, which kicked off in October 2009 and provides snacks for children in after-school programs; apples are the kids' favorite snack, Livingston said. Some 55 percent of children touched by Kids Cafe said they don't have a consistent evening meal.

And he said the program is seeing results, with 84 percent of parents noticing a change in their children's behavior and 97 percent saying their children are sleeping better.

Marcie McDonald, principal at C.P. Squires Elementary School, said the snack program is popular with her students. In the after-school program, she said, children have one hour of academics and an hour of enrichment, which can be athletics, a "silly science" or something similar. In between, the kids get to eat.

"It comes in a box, almost like a little boxed lunch," McDonald said. "It usually has a protein item and some vegetables and fruit and milk. They do a lovely job."

Chefs for Kids also provides food for children in 12 Clark County schools.

"Basically, we take a hot meal to a different at-risk school once a month," said Christopher Johns, executive chef at South Point and Chefs for Kids chairman. In addition, he said, the group helps fund instructors who go into the schools and teach first- and second-graders good eating habits.

They also provide a snack to each school once a month -- 7,600 snacks a month.

"We know they'd love a chocolate-chip cookie, but we give them fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, along that line," Johns said. "The main thing is to make sure kids understand eating healthy from the ground is better than from a freezer in the supermarket."

Livingston said knowing where their next meal is coming from is an incentive for kids.

"Knowing that they've got something to look forward to is very motivating," he said. " 'I'm going to get through this day, and do what I need to do. I have a meal waiting.' "

"It just gives them a better sense of peace," Beck said. Hungry kids, she said, "can't pay attention, so they get all edgy. They have a difficult time sitting still in their seats. Other students fall asleep."

McDonald said the food programs make a difference in kids' academic performance. Because of them, "they're not hungry when they're coming to school," she said. "When you're hungry, you're kind of distracted and your brain isn't working as it needs to be.

"For the most part, the kids who get the breakfast really, truly need it, and are doing it for a reason. Lunch is always an integral part of the day, and the snack piece has to be done in the afternoon, because those kids are starved when they get through that academic hour."

Livingston acknowledged that there still are children in Southern Nevada who don't get enough to eat.

"We know that in Clark County there are more than 5,000 children that are homeless," he said. "There are 150,000 on the free- and reduced-lunch program. We know it will make a dent; it will have an impact. But will it alleviate the problem? No. We can only take steps as far as we can grow, and as we continue to grow, we'll meet more of the need."

McDonald said she doesn't personally know what it's like to be hungry, but she has at least one staff member who does.

"She will just tell you there's nothing worse," McDonald said. "You don't know what hunger is until you've lived through that."

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.