By Judith Roberts
When a need arises, Ruston responds.
Last Thursday, during the week of school closures, Lincoln Parish resident Rebecca Smart said she was feeding her own three children when a realization hit her: while her own kids were warm and well-fed, that was not the case for many schoolchildren.
“Through volunteering with other organizations in the town, I know that backpacks get delivered and that food goes home with kids each weekend,” Smart said. “And I also know that sometimes that’s the only food some of these kids get. When they come back to school, they’re hungry. Just thinking about those kids not having any food is pretty gut-wrenching.”
That evening, Smart called some of her friends, and within a couple of hours, she, Jamie Dendy, Victoria Sullivan and Morgan Thornhill started formulating a plan, posting a request on Facebook for individuals and businesses to help send food home for kids on Friday – the very next morning.
“When people say yes, it turns into no roadblocks,” Smart said. “We got a phone call from the sports complex within 20 minutes of the post going up on Facebook, and we got just messages and messages and phone calls, and money was being sent. Basically it’s just really people just saying yes over and over again and having the heart to feed the kids who so desperately need it.”
Thornhill said based on the parish’s backpack program, they estimated 300 kids needed to be fed, but they prepared for more.
“We knew that (these students) weren’t getting their backpack meals this weekend because they’ve been out of school for so long,” Thornhill said. “There are over 300 kids in the parish served through that program every week. So we knew that 300 families could potentially need help…Within two hours, we had a general plan.”
Volunteers turned out by the dozens at the Sports Complex Friday morning – less than 24 hours of the plan’s origination – to help pack backpacks with shelf staple food, water and blankets. Businesses also contributed with a hot meal and donations.
“We got together just to figure out how we could get together to get food to people who are food insecure because that’s a really big problem in our area,” Sullivan said. “Some people know about it, but some people don’t. We were really just amazed by the response that we got and the money that was donated and the people showing up. It just really means a lot to us.”
At the end of Friday, 700 kids had been fed.
“Ruston has showed up hugely like they always do,” Smart said. “We are just so proud of this community and so, so grateful for everybody who wants to contribute and who does so generously.”
