Since nutrition affects cognitive, social and emotional development, children who do not get proper foods are more likely to have problems learning, growing and interacting. Erin's Angels is a nonprofit that ensures that children who rely on subsidized lunches continue to receive food vital to their growth and development.   

There is an immediate need to assist in combating food insecurity for elementary students in the Phoenix Central School District in order to ensure student focus on academic success. Hunger can greatly affect a student’s performance in school. Children who skip meals and are hungry perform poorer than their peers who have consistent access to food. Hunger has been linked to lower math scores, increased potential to repeat or fail a grade, and affected attendance to class.

 Approximately 14% of individuals in food insecure homes indicated that at least one person went without eating over the weekend. This greatly affects the demeanor of the children in these situations. A study on the impact of similar backpack programs displayed a change in elementary students: teachers indicated that students receiving food packages were better behaved, more attentive, and engaged in lessons.

11.5% of children in Oswego County are food insecure*.  When some of these students go home for the weekend, their meals are very uncertain. Over extended breaks, like Spring Break, which can last ten days or more, the amount of food and number of meals is severely affected. 

It is through your funding that we can provide qualifying children with a sufficient amount of food to last extended breaks.  We work with (on average) 100 students weekly to ensure they are sent home with food to supplement and provide meals while they aren’t in school. 

*Food Bank of Central New York Statistic from Partner Agency Conference. 9/14/23