Volunteers pack thousands of snack bags to fight summertime hunger

Fewer kids in Leon County's low-income areas will be hungry this summer, thanks to hundreds of community volunteers who gathered in the Godby High School cafeteria on Saturday. They packed thousands of snack bags that will go to those kids and their families over the next three months.

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In the past, the Full Summer event's volunteers packed bags of food staples, such as rice, macaroni and cereal. This year, Second Harvest of the Big Bend head Monique Ellsworth says the focus was on healthy snack packs.

"We did 7,000 bags in less than an hour!"

Ellsworth said many of the snack-packs will go to the pantries of the area's Title One schools, which are keeping their pantries open this summer for the first time. Neighborhood community centers will get some and Second Harvest will will hand out others from their roving mobile unit.

"And the most special part of it to me is the fact that every volunteer that packed a bag included a handwritten note to remind the child of their value. It's really special!"

As special as all the volunteers who labored on Saturday to make it happen.