Assistance League of the Eastside donates 60 backpacks of food to Pantry Packs program at local school in Redmond

Assistance League of the Eastside has donated 60 backpacks of food for the Pantry Packs program at a school in Redmond to help feed students in need.

May 31, 2011 1:38 pm
The Pantry Packs was started by Shauna Yusko when the she learned students were coming to school hungry because they did not have enough food at home.
The Pantry Packs was started by Shauna Yusko when the she learned students were coming to school hungry because they did not have enough food at home.

Assistance League of the Eastside has donated 60 backpacks of food for the Pantry Packs program at a local school in Redmond to help feed students in need.

The program was started by Shauna Yusko when she learned students were coming to school hungry, stating they did not have enough food at home.

Every Thursday, volunteers fill rolling backpacks with healthy food for the weekend (taking into account that there may not be items like milk or bread in the house). Students, who are selected by school counselors, take the packs home at the end of the week and return them Monday to be refilled again the following week.

Assistance League provided the Pantry Pack support through its Outreach program, which collaborates with other organizations and groups to help people in need on the Eastside.

Assistance League of the Eastside, one of more than 126 chapters of the National Assistance League, is a volunteer, nonprofit organization that impacts the lives of Eastside families and individuals in need through community-based philanthropic programs including Operation School Bell, Assault Survivor Kits, Starting Over Support and Outreach. Since its start in 1989, the Eastside chapter has helped more than 29,000 people and returned more $2.7 million to the community.

For additional information about Assistance League of the Eastside, call (425) 556-5106, visit www.eastside.assistanceleague.org or e-mail eastsideinfo@asssistanceleague.org.