SPOKANE — A major donation from Rosauers Supermarkets will help Second Harvest’s Bite 2 Go program feed an additional 150 children each school year, addressing growing food insecurity in the region.
The grocery chain donated over $45,000 to the program, which delivers weekend meals to children who might otherwise go hungry from Friday afternoon until Monday morning when school meal programs resume. The donation comes as the need for food assistance continues to grow in the region.
“So that they can support the kids to bridge the gap between Friday and Monday morning when they start getting food from the school lunch program,” said Cliff Rigsbee, CEO of Rosauers.
The Bite 2 Go program delivers bags containing eight meals each to 235 schools across the region. Volunteers regularly help with deliveries, picking up prepared bags from Second Harvest’s warehouse and transporting them to participating schools.
Julie Myklebust with Bite 2 Go explained the educational impact of weekend hunger on students.
“Kids that, you know, go home hungry on Friday and they get stressed out and they show up to school on Monday not ready to learn, not, you know, they’re tired. They’re behavior problems crop up. So it really makes a big difference. It’s an education tool,” Myklebust said.
The program currently serves approximately 12,000 children in the area, but organizers estimate another 7,000 children need food assistance. The gap between need and capacity remains a challenge for the program.
“We’re doing well in Spokane, but there are also always schools where the need is outgrowing the capacity of the donor. So we’re always looking for ways to kind of fill those gaps,” Myklebust said.
The donation represents the first year that Second Harvest and Rosauers partnered on this type of fundraiser, collecting money from customers at local grocery stores. Rigsbee emphasized that the funds stay within the local community.
“All the funds that the employees helped get from the customers that wanted to donate, all that stuff stays local or in the various chapters throughout the northwest that bite to go helps,” Rigsbee said.
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