Volunteers, from right, Kathy Jones-Taylor, Albert Rose and John Erickson pack Bite2Go bags on an assembly line at Second Harvest Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. The kits, given to children suspected of having insufficient or unpredictable access to food at home, contains healthy snack foods. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
A Bite2Go bag is assembled at Second Harvest food bank. Donors and food vendors help pack the Bite2Go bags that are distributed through schools to children suspected of having problems getting food at home. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Volunteer center manager Conor Ellert shows off a massive container of beans Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 at Second Harvest. The beans will be repackaged and distributed to families through events at Spokane schools, part of a program to get nutrition directly to families with problems getting access to healthy foods. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Volunteers from Umpqua Bank, where employees may donate 40 hours of volunteer time a year, gather for a photo at Second Harvest in Spokane, where they were volunteering Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, to pack bags of snacks for kids that will be passed out at schools. Umpqua made a large donation to the area schools food assistance program at Second Harvest, where the volunteers were assembling supplemental food kits for kids with problems getting food at home. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Watermelons, shown Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 at Second Harvest in Spokane, wait for distribution at schools and other venues where families with difficulty getting healthy foods can add them to their diets. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
In fall 2014, a $300,000 grant launched a three-year pilot nutritional outreach program through Second Harvest at three Spokane schools sites: Lidgerwood, Bemiss and Trent elementary schools. These sites have high rates of free and reduced-price meals.
After three years, leaders with entities behind the pilot are looking at data and impact: what happens to kids’ performance in schools with food security, more nutritional foods, and relationships with families. Results are mixed but mostly positive.
In fall 2014, a $300,000 grant from Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation launched a three-year nutritional outreach through Second Harvest at three Spokane-area elementary schools: Lidgerwood, Bemiss and Trent. These sites all have high rates of free and reduced-price meals.