OCTOBER 1, 2014
Foothills Food Bank & Resource Center provides snack packs for hungry children
CAVE CREEK – Foothills Food Bank & Resource Center is helping hungry children in the Cave Creek Unified School District (CCUSD), and two Anthem schools in the Deer Valley School District (DVUSD), by providing special snack packs.
The Snack Pack program came about when retired Scottsdale resident Carmine Furioso, who assists the food bank, joined up with Gina Durban, director of education and community services for the district. The Snack Pack program provides more than 100 children with meals every weekend. The meals are planned using a nutritionist’s advice. Each meal includes a breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as two snacks for Saturday and Sunday. The meals are assembled by volunteers and delivered to the schools. Children who receive the snack packs participate in the Federal School Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Approximately 11 percent of families in the northern foothills school district qualify for the Snack Pack program.
According to Furioso, the Cave Creek food bank program costs a little more than $5 per child each week. The program is funded by donations and small grants, and is offered in all of the schools at CCUSD and two Anthem elementary schools in the DVUSD.
Donations can be made to Foothills Food Bank to help defray costs. The Foothills Food Bank and Resource Center is located at 6038 E. Hidden Valley Drive in Cave Creek, Ariz.
