CLEAR LAKE – “All children deserve the opportunity to lead a safe and healthy life free from hunger.” This vision statement has led the Clear Lake Community Schools to create a Backpack Program to provide food-insecure students with nutritious and child friendly food. The school recently received a grant from the Cerro Gordo County Community Foundation (CGCCF), an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to help fund the program.
The Backpack Program was started in 2010 by Sally Duesenberg, Clear Lake Community Schools Student and Families Services Coordinator, and Sandy Christ. According to Duesenberg, over 13 percent of children in nine North Iowa counties were in need of extra nutrition outside school hours. The Backpack Program, under the parent organization Clear Creek Connections, provides food for students to pick up on a monthly basis, and also at the beginning of school breaks such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Duesenberg reports that in the future, there are plans to send food supplies home with younger children more frequently, on a weekly basis. Fareway has been a big partner in this venture, helping financially as well as providing manpower for bagging the food for pickup.
With the help of volunteers and donors throughout the community, and support from the CGCCF, the Clear Lake Backpack Program continues to be a nutritional support that enables our students to develop into productive citizens.
