In response to a request for assistance in addressing food insecurity at Weed Elementary School (WES) from teacher Allison Blankenship, Great Northern was able to secure a $3,000 grant from the Pacific Power Foundation to help meet a growing need.
“The reports of children pulling discarded food out of trash cans and taking food from desk drawers is very disconcerting”, says Crystal Aston, Great Northern’s Community Services and Funding Program Manager. “We view the children at WES as the future of our community and we want to support their growth and education whenever possible.”
The Pacific Power Foundation was made aware that for some children at WES, the Free or Reduced School Lunch Program may be the only meal they can count on receiving that day, and that funding to purchase snacks could offer a solution to the impact hunger has on children’s ability to focus and learn as well as on classroom behavior.
“Pacific Power Foundation is pleased to support Great Northern and its efforts to provide nutritious food for the vulnerable children at Weed Elementary School who are struggling with food insecurity,” said Monte Mendenhall, Pacific Power regional community manager.
According to a 2011 report from Feeding America, 30.4% of the children in Siskiyou County do not know where their next meal will come from.
Anyone wishing to join in the efforts to support the staff of WES in providing healthy snacks to children struggling with hunger may send a check made out to Great Northern, memo: WES Snack Program to: Great Northern, P.O. Box 20, Weed, CA 96094
For more information, contact Crystal Aston at 938-4115, ext 126, or email caston@gnccorp.org. More about GNC programs at http://www.GncCorp.org
About the Pacific Power Foundation
The Pacific Power Foundation is part of the PacifiCorp Foundation, one of the largest utility-endowed foundations in the United States. The foundation was created in 1988 by PacifiCorp, an electric utility serving 1.8 million customers in six Western states as Pacific Power (Oregon, Washington and California) and Rocky Mountain Power (Utah, Wyoming and Idaho). The foundation’s mission, through charitable investments, is to support the growth and vitality of the communities served by Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power. For more information, visit www.pacificpower.net/foundation