Julie Douglass of Rose Hill Montessori has brought classes of upper elementary students to The Idaho Foodbank for over eight years. Julie sees it as a way for them to experience compassion and give back to the community.

Most recently the students helped fill backpacks for schoolchildren to take home on the weekend.  Each backpack contains two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, two snacks and some shelf-stable milk. Volunteering is a great way for youth to learn about their community and how to become engaged citizens.

Montessori students have also helped repack fruits and vegetables, place stickers on unmarked cans and sorted food by nutritional category. Vonda Pattee, 16-year Foodbank employee says, “They’ve done pretty much every job.” Vonda enjoys watching the kids grow into long-term volunteers and gets a kick out of the students who return as young adults.

Our afternoon group of volunteers was quite a bit larger than our morning crew, but still — 2,700 Backpack refills in a two-hour shift is quite an accomplishment.

Thank you to everyone who spent part of their holiday with us. The 4,100 backpacks you refilled today will feed a lot of children.