We are excited to share that it has been providing weekend meals to many AMS families, for 13 weeks now. Students participating in the program are sent home every Friday with backpacks full of food items to help feed their entire family for the weekend. The backpacks include non-perishables like beans, rice, pasta, peanut butter, soups, and other canned foods. Additionally, they receive fresh bread and seasonal produce.
The AMS program began as a continuation of the very successful district-wide Summer Food Backpack Program coordinated by Helman parent, Roxana Ramseur. To ensure AMS families were able to continue to receive weekend food support throughout the school year, Roxana partnered with AMS to help us plan and launch our very own weekly Food Backpack Program. Roxana secured Ashland Middle School’s first Food Backpack donation of $180 from Jones Family Dental to purchase 15 backpacks to transport food home with students each week. Roxana was instrumental in securing the seed money and mentoring our team in building our very own program.
Since beginning the AMS program, we have been so fortunate to receive incredible support from the local community. So far this year, with the support of the Ashland Schools Foundation, we have received $15,000.00 from Jackson Care Connect/Care Oregon and $2000.00 from the Ashland Food Co-Op. Additionally, a grandparent of an AMS student reached out and arranged to make monthly donations to support our program. The gifts from these generous organizations and community members will help ensure that any AMS family in need can access weekend food support throughout the year. We are so grateful to be a part of a community that eagerly supports our mission and vision and we look forward to serving our AMS families.
If you are interested in receiving a food backpack, donating to our program, or would like to learn more, please reach out to Allison Hass at allison.hass@ashland.k12.or.us or at 541.482.1611 x3106.