Tote Me Home - Food for Kids!

School is out for the summer but the Tote Me Home Program continues!  The Ladies Auxiliary get a break from bagging and delivering the bags to the schools.  We have other friends willing to jump in and help.  The food is sent from the Collinsville Food Pantry to the First United Methodist Church where they put together the bags for our partner, HHH Summer camp.  HHH will hand out the Tote Me home bags to students in need during the summer break, which takes place at St. John UCC Church.  Have you got all that??  It can seem complicated but this works for us.  The Collinsville Community is always willing to step up and make sure no child goes hungry.

 Please continue to support this program as we make sure children who rely on the free lunch program during the school year have something to eat during the summer break.  Thank you!

The Tote Me Home program that is run under the Collinsville Food Pantry continues as the kids are now back to school 2 days a week under the Hybrid model (the other 2 days are remote learning).  We are now over 215 bags a week!  The Ladies Auxiliary from the Knights of Columbus continue to come in early on Thursday morning to fill the bags and deliver them to their respective schools. More and more families are finding it difficult to feed their children during this Pandemic.  We hate to think that this is our new normal. We want the kids to know that Tote Me Home will remain in their lives so they can receive food over the weekends.  

Please continue to support to Tote Me Home in the Collinsville Community.  Thank you!

The Collinsville Food Pantry began the school year with close to 200 requests for Tote Me Home bags from the Collinsville School District.  We serve the 12 schools that are in the district.  This is the most that has ever been requeste!  The Pantry had to have a discussion on limiting the number of bags we provide.  We don't want to but financially 200 bags per week is close to what we can afford and we are just beginning our school year.  Our families have been hit hard from COVID 19 virus.  Many are not working or not able to return to work full time.  This school year is a hybrid model and remote learning.  Students choose whether to attend school 2 days a week and the other days remote or all spend all days learning at home.  We do NOT want to turn anyone away! 

The attached photo is 1 example of the menu that is sent home with the student.  It is enough food for the weekend for them.  There are 4 menus that rotate through the schedule.  The wonderful KC Ladies Auxiliary continue to volunteer to pack and distribute the bags to the different schools.  They are working with less people per our State's restrictions.  Please continue to support us!

Our Tote Me Home program has been adjusted due to the restrictions that the COVID 19 virus has placed upon us.  We have partnered with the HHH Summer Camp program during the summer vacation where we passed out Tote Me Home bags to our most vulnerable kids.  HHH has been canceled due to the virus.  No camp for the kids!  We have contacted our HHH kids that received Tote Me Home in the past years to come up on Friday at St. John UCC Church to receive a bag per child for the weekend.  Our whole community has been working hard to make sure no one goes hungry.  From the Collinsville Food Pantry feeding people from other communities whose Pantries have closed.  Our School District who keep providing sack lunches to kids on through June.  To individuals who make sure the Blessing Boxes are well stocked with food and toiletries.  To our Churches who are closed to their Congregations but allow us some space to store the Tote Me Home food and let us distribute them on their property.  We will get through this together.  Please keep supporting us in the unprecedented time. Thank you!

On an ordinary Tuesday in February, a group of Collinsville High School students brought in their donations that they collected for the Tote Me Home Program.  They came carpooling in cars and dropped off nearly 500 pounds of food collected specifically for the Tote Me Home menu.  These Collinsville High School students realize the need in our community and decided they wanted to help.  The Tote Me Home program is now up to 180 students (a new record!) in our school district.  These are students identified that are coming from food insecure homes and are receiving bags of food for the weekend.  There are 4 of these students at the High School for the first time in our program.  The Food Pantry is not entirely surprised by this generosity.  We have a very caring community and our children have learned by example how to take care of one another.  Please continue to support the Tote Me Home program in Collinsville, Il and help make a difference in a child's life.