3rd Annual Hi-Pro Feeds the Future benefit Saturday
The 3rd Annual Hi-Pro Feeds the Future Benefit and Dinner will kick off Saturday, April 1 at 6 p.m. at The Country Rose, 570 FM 1057, Summerfield. Tickets for the benefit will be available at the door. The proceeds will benefit the Parmer County Snack Pak 4 Kids program. Last year the benefit raised $74,000 to help feed hungry students in Parmer County.
The silent auction, Lucky Duck drawing and appetizers will be served beginning at 6 p.m.
Attendees will enjoy a live auction featuring a trip for two, guns, electronics, home décor, Montana Silver, Kendra Scott, Sirloin Lipons, car wash tokens, tools, toys, Cake of the Month and much more. Logan Harkey, of Canyon, will serve as the auctioneer for the live auction.
Cabella representatives will be on hand to showcase the guns that will be auctioned off.
According to Hi-Pro representative Varla Wilcox, “The Friona, Farwell and surrounding communities have been very generous in supplying auction items.”
Snack Pak 4 Kids is on a mission to end weekend hunger for children living in the Texas Panhandle by providing a backpack filled with kid-friendly snacks each Friday of the school year.
Snack Pak 4 Kids (SP4K) founder, Dyron Howell began tackling child hunger in 2010 by providing ten sacks of food for teacher-selected students at Will Rogers Elementary School in Amarillo. His efforts since then provide 7,000 children with Snack Pak backpacks every weekend.
Howell stands on the principle that 100 percent of all donated money is used to buy food.
Sixty-seven percent of teachers have seen an improvement in academic performance due to SP4K. Ninety-four percent of teachers feel SP4K is a beneficial program. Approximately 27.1 percent of children in Texas are food insecure.
If a child does not get enough food outside of school he/she is considered ‘food insecure’. According the USDA the definition of food insecurity are households that are uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet basic needs of all their members because of insufficient money or other resources.
A chronically hungry child will be anxious for a meal to be served. They may rush the cafeteria line or show up early for breakfast. During the meal they will eat all of their food, not being picky about the food they are served. The hungry child will clean his/her plate and will not throw portions away. They will at times ask for seconds.
By asking a few questions, an assessment can be made as to whether or not this is a case of normal hunger or whether this seems to be a frequent situation that results because of food insecurity.
Physical appearance is also an indicator to a food insecure child. The child may exhibit extreme thinness or puffy swollen skin, chronically dry, cracked lips or chronically dry, itchy eyes.
School performance or behavior is another indicator. By observing the child some of the following may help identify chronic hunger: excessive absences, hyperactive, aggressive, irritable, anxious, withdrawn, distressed, passive/aggressive, repetition of a grade, difficulty forming friendships and getting along with others, sickness-sore throat, common cold, stomach ache, ear infection or fatigue, short attention span or inability to concentrate.
Many times children will be open about what is going on at home. By listening, their teachers and other school officials can help determine whether or not the child needs to be receiving a backpack weekly.
A sample of what is placed in the backpacks include: juice boxes, shelf stable milk, fruit cups, Pop Tarts or cereal bars, boxes of cereal, peanut butter cracker packs, beef sticks, peanuts, peanut butter and crackers.
This yearly benefit is a way for the community to give back and help the food insecure children of Parmer County.
