Zanna is a fifth grader at Parkview Village Elementary, an Expressive Arts Magnet School in High Point. She loves to sing and dance during recess and hopes to make that into a career someday. Though she is well spoken, Zanna seems happy to stay in the background and let her friends do all the talking. One thing she is excited to talk about is the bag she receives every Friday filled with food from BackPack Beginnings.
She excitedly describes how much better it makes her weekends to have her bag. Zanna loves that it helps her mom “so she doesn’t have to worry.” One of Zanna’s two little brothers also goes to Parkview and gets a bag, which is a huge relief to their mom. Currently out of work, she was laid off a while back and is now barely making ends meet. According to staff at Parkview, her mom is supportive of her children and is “doing the best she can.” Sadly, her best sometimes isn’t enough for Zanna to have food to eat. Fortunately, Zanna loves the food in the bags, and she always eats the soup first. Her other favorites are the juice and fruit cups.
Knowing that she doesn’t have to worry about food over the weekend improves all aspects of Zanna’s life. It helps her by alleviating family stress and keeping her from worrying about her mom, something she should not have to think about. Instead, she can spend her time hanging out with her friends, making up dances, and learning math- her favorite subject. She can just be a normal kid.
*Children’s names have been changed to protect their anonymity.
Written on 11/5/2013 by Blogger Thea DeLoreto
