The emotion in Paul Charette’s voice conveys how much one experience at Belmar Elementary School affected him.
A kindergartner opened her bag during lunch with two Oreos, a few chips, and just a little popcorn.
Paul, a health and physical education teacher, was on lunch duty. He asked, “Is that your snack, or is it your lunch?”
As it turned it out, it was her lunch, prepared by her sister in second grade. “For the first time, I saw that a child was hungry. To say it got to me is an understatement,” added the teacher.
Paul made sure children in need received free meals at school. He and his wife also started preparing weekend food bags – out of their own pocket – for about 25 families in the school. Soon, it became 50 bags per week, and they could not keep up with the expense.
Paul found out about Fulfill’s Backpack Program and reached out. Fulfill now provides about 70 backpack food bags to children at the school. They are filled with nutritious meals, snacks, and drinks so children have enough to eat over the weekend. Fulfill is proud to have its Backpack Program in more than 30 schools in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, serving more than 1,000 children per week.
Interested in bringing Fulfill’s Backpack Program to your school, contact Erin Leo eleo@fulfillnj.org.