Homes Burglarized for Food
Leaves Children Hungry
The middle school student asked to see Edison Middle School principal Derrick Spurlock. The reason surprised the seasoned principal. “My home was broke into, and the burglars stole all our groceries.” replied the hungry student.
Spurlock brought the hungry child in his office, and fed him snacks. “This was not the first time that we’ve heard heartbreaking stories about our hungry children.” Spurlock reflected: “We’ve not had the resources to help families in this situation. Until now.”
When Lauren Hill, a newlywed, heard about the hunger challenges of local Dallas schools, she asked what she could do to make a difference. She met with FEED 3 staff, and learned about Edison Middle School plight, and within weeks, had friends and family fill dozens of large grocery bags with nonperishable stables, for families, whose children attend Edison.
Edison Middle School, sits in the 11th poorest zip code in the nation, and one of Dallas more poorer communities. Five elementary schools from the surrounding communities feed into the middle school with nearly 800 students. “These groceries that we can keep on hand at the school help us tremendously with families who are going through hard times” says Spurlock.
Spurlock’s challenge is not unique to DISD, where many of the school districts elementary and middle schools have high percentages of children that arrive to school hungry. One teacher reflected: “I know many of these children eat one meal a day and they are constantly looking for food. Some may go hungry because the parents are working at odd hours, or more likely don’t have the means to feed them.”
Hunger is not just an inner city problem, as recent reports show that rural areas nearly half of students in rural schools also face a hunger problem. Nationwide, 86% of inner city kids in elementary schools face hunger, while in Dallas area inner city schools, the numbers reach up to 93% in certain areas.
Experts see the problem increasing, as 19% more children in 2010 were hungry than in 2009. Elementary school students are the most hungry, with teachers reporting they see hungry children at least three times a week. When interviewed, teachers found that 72% of these children come from unstable home environments, 55 % of parents can’t afford to buy food, and 50% of parents are absent to prepare food (reaching 57% in middle schools).
“In the inner city, where 64% of African-American families are fatherless, and 34% of Hispanic families are single mom, making ends meet very difficult. In rural communities, 25% of poor white families are single mom homes”: says Randy Skinner, executive director of FEED 3.
He continued: “Many of Edison Middle School families are the working poor, and many single moms work two or more jobs, as do poorer Hispanic fathers. When you’re paid minimum wage, vs. a living wage (wages that help provide for family basic needs), it’s usually the children who suffer the most.”
Also responding to help Edison Middle School was Rose Fitzgerald, a mother of two children who rallied other Episcopal School of Dallas moms to adopt Edison Middle School for 2012-2013.
Meeting with Principal Spurlock, Fitzgerald learned of the hunger challenges, Fitzgerald and her group began providing snacks for students attending teacher-student mentoring sessions. The program was so successful that attendance went from 12 students to 75 in a matter of weeks. “It was unbelievable” says Fitzgerald, "that something as simple as providing snacks helped bring children to after school mentoring programs."
Principal Spurlock, who began this year at Edison, requested FEED 3 programs to be implemented at his school. The program will help make sure every student and family has adequate food, and next August will launch Heart of a Champion character program. In schools where Heart of a Champion curriculum is used, graduation rates soar and discipline problems declined.
The FEED 3 program currently provides meals for 85 teachers on teacher-parent conference days and plans to renovate the teacher’s lounge. It provides gift cards for teachers mentoring students (teachers don’t get paid to mentor or spend extra hours after school to help students), and helps teachers who spend their own money providing students with school supplies.
Spurlock is encouraged by the FEED 3 partnership. At a recent PTA meeting, he shared: “The FEED 3 program said they were going to help us, and they’ve already made good on their promise.”
Thought for reflection: “You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to share with our people. Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing. Jesus made it very clear. Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you receive me.” -Mother Theresa
Your tax-deductible gifts can also be mailed to Strategic Justice Initiatives. P.O. Box 222026, Dallas, Texas 75222.
About Strategic Justice Initiatives Inc. - SJI in 2009 became involved in laying the groundwork for the citywide movement called the Greater Dallas Justice Revival. SJI was the parent nonprofit for it till 2011 when its mission of starting 25 school church partnerships, and placement of 700 chronic homeless into housing were accomplished. SJI then launched www.homesforourneighbors.com as the faith partner for Dallas Housing Authority and Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance support of 2000 chronic homeless were placed into permanent supportive housing. www.feed3.org was launched to support the school-church partnerships and hunger projects throughout North Texas. Both efforts carry on the misson of Greater Dallas Justice Revival.
To help end hunger and poverty in our region, please consider a generous donation: Click here:
Thousands Affected by Tornadoes
Need Assistance!
Over 1,000 homes or buildings were destroyed or damaged during the recent rash of Tornadoes that impacted the North Texas landscape. Thousands more were affected by power outage, destroyed vehicles, businesses or churches.
No loss of life brought Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm to “thank God for the protection he provided” whiles hundreds more prayed while the tornadoes were ripping off their roofs. Children in local schools huddled in groups praying as well.
Eighteen- year old Collin Lawrence, credits prayers for seeing his huddled family survive in their bathroom, while the rest of their home was destroyed.
Miraculously, where 14,000-pound tractor-trailers were tossed like toys landing a third of a mile away on area Oak Cliff homes, left no one injured.
Now, the hard work of rebuilding lives begins for area residents like Anne Hennington, age 74, whose husband died last year. After huddling in her bathroom as the tornado passed over her home, the shaken grandmother walked into the den where she had been sitting, to see the destruction. Hennington reflected: “I just lost my husband in July last year, and now I’ve lost my house. What else am I going to lose?”
While hundreds of residents, stunned from loses were wondering where help was coming from, others sprung into action. North Texas oil and gas company Trican field staff left their wells, piled into 24 trucks and drove into devastated areas offering help. When Rick Jasper, whose business was partly destroyed, saw nearly 100 men who he had never met, pull up to help clean up the rubble, he was “reassured of the human spirit”.
FEED 3 will be working with local pastors and nonprofits in the next few weeks to assist families in need. If you, your church or organization wishes to help, please contact our organization.
Please consider a generous donation to assist families in need by donating here. DONATE NOW!
