This morning the Burnsville Breakfast Rotary welcomed our guest speaker Pamala Voight who is the program director for BrainPower in a Backpack and the Dist. 191 Community Pantry in Burnsville. BrainPower in a BackPack is a Volunteer Hunger Relief Project through ISD 191 Community Education and Burnsville High School benefitting all students, staff, and families in District 191. The high school students and community volunteers assemble hunger relief packages via three programs:
1) BrainPower in a Backpack
Provides weekend food packages for families who struggle to put enough food on the table. Because academic performance is related to nutrition, our goal is to improve the student learning experience for children with the greatest need in ISD 191.
2) Dist. 191 Community Pantry
This is a family grocery bag style food distribution available to all community members on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at Diamondhead Education Center. Each grocery bag has 10-15 nonperishable items designed for a family of 4 including a box of assorted fresh fruits and vegetables when available. The Pantry is open to the public.
3) Dist. 191 Fresh Produce Distribution
This program is available July - October and provides a box of assorted fresh fruits and vegetables distributed on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month at Diamondhead Educational Center and is available to all community members.
The primary program, BrainPower in a Backpack runs 9 mo./32 weeks per year when school is in session and is provided to students who qualify for the program. Nearly 50% of Dist. 191 students qualify for free or reduced lunches, so the need is great to help families who are trying to extend their budgets and to provide nutrition for their children.
Where the need is greatest for volunteers is to either help transport the BrainPower in Backpack bags from the Burnsville High School to the (8) elementary/middle school dropoff locations or to help with the distribution of food bags at the Dist. Community 191 Food Pantry which is located at the Diamondhead Educational Center. To find out more about how you can help, please click the link below:
https://sites.google.com/a/isd191.org/brainpower-in-a-backpack/
