Belly Buddy Program growing at Glendale

Belly Buddies, a program to provide students with snacks on weekends when they are away from school, has grown from seven students to 25 students at Glendale Elementary.
Katie Richard, founder of the program, said, “I was born and raised in Eunice, and we never went without (as children). When I got to Baton Rouge (to teach), I was in the inner, inner city, and the poverty rate was just extreme. One of the things was that the kids would come to school to eat breakfast and lunch. We expected then to have to perform on these high stakes tests and sit and listen while their bellies were growling.”
Richard spoke to the Eunice Rotary Club on Wednesday.
While teaching in the East Baton Parish school system, Richard sought donations from a local food bank to provide needy children with ready to eat and easy to open snacks to get them through the weekend. Snacks like cereal, fruit cups, granola bars, macaroni and cheese and canned spaghetti were packed discreetly into backpacks and given to children on Friday afternoons, and the children returned the backpack on Mondays to be refilled.
Richard now teaches pre-k at Glendale Elementary, and she started the Belly Buddies program at the school last fall.
“Our cafeteria does a wonderful job of serving breakfast and lunch, but for many students, the weekend or holidays can be a grueling few days without food,” she said. “Our mission as Belly Buddies is to provide belly bags full of yummy and nutritious foods to needy students on Friday afternoons, providing them with foods that are easy to prepare and that will last them an entire weekend.”
Richard said some students returned from the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and said they missed the cafeteria food.
“They said they missed the good breakfast and lunch and that broke our hearts,” she said.
Parents must sign permission slips for their children to be part of the program, and Richard said Belly Buddies has been well received by families of the children.
“You can’t always judge a book by its cover,” she said. “We don’t know what goes on at home.
“At first, some of the boys in the fourth grade asked why we were doing this. We told them we loved them and didn’t want them to be hungry, we want you to be happy. It’s amazing to see how these kids have softened. They open up to us more now. It’s developed into more that just snacks. It’s kind of a safe place for them, and we talk and listen. A little back pack full of snacks can change a kid’s world. The little back pack is our way of helping them out as best we can.”
Richard has been in touch with principals at Highland Elementary and East Elementary to possibly expand the programs to school.
“I would love for program to just take off,” she added.
Those who wish to donate foods, cash or check donation can do drop donations off at the school’s office or call 337-457-4121. Suggested food items include: individual boxes of cereal, cereal/granola bars, ready to eat oatmeal, fruit cups, toaster breakfast pastries, canned sausage, crackers, pop-top meals like soup, macaroni and cheese, applesauce, raisins, trail mix or nuts and fruit chews. Items must be single serving packages that are easy to open, and ready to eat without preparation.
Richard buys items in bulk as often as possible, and filling the 25 backpacks at Glendale Elementary costs about $150 a week.
“Our goal is to give generously to these children every week so donations are always welcomed,” Richard said.