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Hunger Free MISD Makes Sure Students Have Enough Food Over The Weekend

Dustin Drew
Boxes of food stored in a closet for Hunger Free MISD

It’s a little before 1 o’clock in the afternoon on a Thursday at Midway High School.  The hallways are crowded with students changing classes.  I’m meeting with Traci Marlin, she the Public Information Coordinator for Midway ISD.  I’m there to learn more about the Midway Junior PALS Program, and Hunger Free MISD.

“Today is delivery day.  And, what is about to happen are the junior PALS program are going to come down and grab their bins and take them to campuses.”

As we walk into the classroom, ten plastic bins are lining the wall, some are larger than others.  Each one of them is filled with plastic bags of food.  Food that is easy to open, and does not require adult supervision to prepare.  There’s mac and cheese, fruit cups, along with cheese and crackers.

Students begin to come into the class room and pick up the bins.  For some students, one big tug, and the bin is off the floor.  For others, 

“Oh, coach this is so heavy.  No, I got it.  Oh wow. You got it. Good.”

As quickly as the students come in and pick up the bins, they are out the door, headed to one of the other Midway ISD campuses. 

I have to admit my jaw dropped when Marlin told me, 

“Thirty four percent, so just over a third of our students are considered in need.”

That means that one out of three Midway ISD students qualifies for free or reduced meals.

“We’re serving the number of students that we have, that are free and reduced, are as large as some entire districts in our area, as large as China Spring and Robinson's populations.

The bags are put together for students that suffer from food insecurity.  Some of them may not have enough food to make it through the weekend.  On Fridays, they are discreetly distributed to the students in need.

“So, it originated with a couple of our coaches on a late-night road trip home, and they were talking about how we had kids that were in need, especially on weekends because some of their athletes were those kiddos that needed a little extra support.”

That’s Midway High School Principal Alison Smith, and she tells me that the number of students that qualify for free or reduced meals could be higher since some families don’t fill out the paperwork.

Both Marlin and Smith admit since the Hunger Free MISD program began, there’s been a learning curve.

“Sometimes a family is going through a hard situation, and this is their first time to ever pick up a bag.  We don’t ever want them to not take it, when they need it, because they are embarrassed or anything like that.”

During longer breaks from school like Thanksgiving, the Midway Junior Pals would send home more food for the students, but then made a quick realization…

“But at first we were delivering giant frozen turkeys, and a lot of times the people we delivered them to did not have a way to store them or cook.”

“Alright you guys ready?”

Avery Akin and Ella Cromie are in 11th grade at Midway and are members of the Junior PALS program.  They fill the bags with food on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then take them to Woodway Elementary on Thursday.

“This is important to me because it is very eye opening just to know that there are people within our own district who don’t have meals on the weekend, and that we get to serve them food for the weekend.”

“It’s good to like take care of people that maybe can’t always take care of themselves sometimes with food and stuff.”

Each week Midway ISD hands out between 215 and 250 bags of food depending upon the need of the students.  Hunger Free MISD is a self-sustaining program thanks to generous donations from local businesses and individuals.