In August 2023, we launched a program that goes out to all of our children called "Believe Bags." These bags contain food, a small gift, and an encouraging card; they're aimed at helping the low self-esteem that increases in children battling food insecurity.
Years ago, during my time as a single mom, I struggled to pay for groceries. There were weeks that I could barely afford the splurge on those little, individual yogurt packs that Julian and Seth loved. I felt exhilarated in those moments that I could, but being able to afford the luxury of "name brand" was always utterly impossible.
I would pack their lunches in the mornings, always writing out a note to each of them, telling them to have a great day, or reminding them how much they're loved, and tuck it beside a logo like "More 4 Less" or "Super Value". I worried as they ran into school beside the kids who I knew had single name brands on their clothes and in their lunch boxes. I wondered how they felt sitting beside kids who had far more than I could give them at the time.
Years and a set of twins later, I was financially stable (and still packing lunches.) Seth, now in his senior year of high school, peeked over my shoulder to see a shiny, red Danimals yogurt pouch. "Soph and Charlotte don't stand a chance in middle school," he joked. "That fancy yogurt's gonna make them soft."
I laughed with him, but it took me back to those days and I immediately felt a pinch of shame that I felt then. I asked a very honest question: "Did it bother you that I couldn't do this back then?" He cocked his head at me, questioningly. I rephrased.
"Did it bother you that I could only afford the cheapest stuff? When you opened your lunch box, did it embarrass you?"
He thought for a long pause, trying to recall. "I honestly don't even remember what was ever in my lunch box." He grabbed one of the yogurts and shrugged, "I just remember the notes."
At that moment, Soph came running by to grab her lunch box. He handed it to her and joked, "Fancy yogurt in there today."
"Okay," Soph said, uninterested. Her eyes brightened at me and she said, "did you remember your note?"
Our job is to provide nutrition and to fill tummies; we often get so caught up in this massive undertaking that forget how equally vital it is to fill their little hearts. They need those reminders that we not only believe in them, but we believe in ourselves to continue to show them, in any way we can, how much they matter.
This is proved to me during every distribution throughout various times of the year when I hear over and over, "they love what's inside the bag. But the card is what they all reach for first."
This Thanksgiving, Blessing's Believe Bags (themed for Thanksgiving as Turkey Totes) went home in the backpacks of 3,000 children, each who reached into the sack and pulled out a handwritten card that reminded them, "You are loved. You are Valid. We Believe in You."
They'll go out around Christmas. And Valentine's Day. And Spring Break. During the Summer program. And will continue for as long as there are children who need fed, for as long as we have donors and volunteers who continue to believe, and who want the kids to believe along with them.
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