UNLV, Three Square partner to reduce hunger

September 2, 2010 by Ian Whitaker 

“Backpacks for Kids” looks to extend its reach beyond Nevada

As Valley schools fill up for the start of another school year, educators are being confronted with an even greater obstacle to learning than the usual lack of attention that follows the freedom of the summer recess.

Hunger is placing an increasing strain on teachers’ efforts to instruct their students. And while the Clark County School District is obligated by law to give free lunches to any child that comes to school, it has been unable to provide for kids’ dietary needs over the weekend, when school is out and students are at home.

In response, CCSD has partnered with faculty from the UNLV Nutrition Sciences Department and outfits such as Three Square, a community-based aid collective with a massive sphere of coverage throughout the Las Vegas area.

The goal is to provide school children with healthy food for the weekend, when a consistent meal is not always guaranteed.

Dubbed “Backpacks for Kids,” the program has served thousands of Clark County students each year since its inception in 2008.

It is presently faced with the challenge of expanding to meet an increase of nearly double its current output of free packs containing nutritious, non-perishable food items such as fruit cups, granola bars, packaged raisins and canned goods.

The statistics behind the initiative are staggering: Nearly half of all students enrolled in CCSD schools are participants in the state’s free and reduced-price lunch program, according to the website of Three Square. Another 19 percent of children under the age of 18 in Nevada are classified as “food-insecure.”

Three Square has an explanation for this as well: high unemployment and economic strain.

The food for Backpacks for Kids is provided by Three Square, which taps its vast network of donors across the city to collect materials.

The packages are assembled by volunteers, to be dispersed among Valley students.

At the end of each week, students in need collect the food packages and bring them home.

While the program has been successful at bringing quality food to kids in Clark County, children in other states may not have been as fortunate – until now.

Democratic Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District has recently sponsored a bill along with 28 other House representatives from around the country, including fellow Nevada Representative Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., to amend current law to subsidize a federal school program, modeled after local programs like Backpacks for Kids.

This will ensure that the benefits of a mutual partnership between charity groups and local schools are extended to hungry students all over the country.

The bill, House Resolution 5012, was proposed in April of 2010 and is currently pending consideration by the House Committee on Health and Education.