Volunteers prepare bags for W&L's backpack program. Credit: wlulex
In Lexington, VA and the surrounding Rockbridge county area, some parents are struggling to feed their children. In 2014, 15.5% of Lexington’s population were found to be food insecure, and the poverty rate is 24%, 10 percentage points higher than the national average.
Established in 2006 to address food insecurity issues, Washington and Lee’s Campus Kitchen project has recovered 434,428 pounds of food, and logged 46, 306 volunteer hours.
Longtime CK coordinator Jenny Davidson says that the main clientele the Kitchen serves are children – this is done through a backpack program that reaches children through the public school system.
CK President Hannah Witherell goes into more depth about the backpack program - explaining the logistics behind the program. Providing healthy options for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have them is essential for their development.
Davidson, Witherell, and community members agree that the backpack program is a “double win”; helping students of all ages learn and grow.
Attached is an extra graphic with information about food insecurity in Rockbridge County.
Sources:
wlulex.com
For additional info on Campus Kitchen: https://www.wlu.edu/shepherd-poverty-studies-program/community-engagement/campus-kitchen-at-washington-and-lee
For additional info on poverty in Rockbridge County: https://www.wlu.edu/shepherd-poverty-studies-program/academics/community-academic-research-alliance-(cara)/rockbridge-community-profile/poverty-in-rockbridge
