The Suquamish Tribe has donated $10,000 to the Backpacks for Kids Food Program that will be used to deliver over 1,800 backpacks filled with food to students in the South Kitsap School District.
The program recently lost a majority of its food supply due to a mouse getting into its food storage.
“Your donation will help ensure that children in South Kitsap will not go hungry this holiday season and that is a gift I will be forever grateful for,” Port Orchard Mayor Rob Putaansuu said.
The program partners with SKSD to provide food for children over the weekends, a tribal news release states. Each week, packs are filled with kid-friendly foods and delivered to schools, where staff confidentially distribute them. Those types of programs have been shown to increase attendance, decrease behavior problems, improve concentration abilities and improve academic achievement, per the release.
“This vital support comes at a time when we are rebuilding from a devastating crisis, and it will have a lasting impact on families in the South Kitsap community who are facing food insecurity,” program founder Tish VanRavenhorst said.
Suquamish tribal chairman Leonard Forseman said, “Kitsap County is within our ancestral homelands, and through our contributions we hope to ensure that families across the region have access to the essential resources they need to thrive.”