Seven years ago, LH mom Malynn Wren’s boss at Grant Thornton encouraged her to help out at the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). After volunteering there awhile, she was able to recognize the signs of a hungry child at her own child’s school – Lake Highlands Elementary. "I was surprised to see a child that young going hungry in my own neighborhood," she remembers. So she called Kim Sullivan, principal at LHE. "Older kids can ususally find food, but elementary kids can’t," Malynn told her.
The two of them started the "Backpack Program" in conjunction with the NTFB, so that hungry children could go home on weekends with a bag of nutritious food. "Stuff like peanut butter and apples," Malynn recalls, "easy to carry and easy to prepare."
The program stuck, and it’s one of many life-saving ways that the NTFB feeds hungry families in Lake Highlands. "I think a lot of people don’t realize how many organizations NTFB supports – churches and pantries and after school programs all over our area," Malynn told me. "It’s amazing what they do on a small budget." If you are interested in supporting the NTFB, check out their website at www.ntfb.org.
