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Mt. Abe Free Snack Program Fills A Need And Warms The Heart

Tuesday December 3, 2013

By Cookie Steponaitis

When the Bristol Christian Fellowship began its soup kitchen “Table of Grace” four years ago the decision was made to broaden its scope and variety of offerings. The group identified students at Mount Abraham Union High School as a place to focus and consulted with principal Andy Kepes and Lunch Program head Kathy Alexander. Delighted with the resounding yes they received the group began offering Free Snack Tuesday with a minimum of four selections that include dairy and fruit, home baked muffins, cookies, cupcakes or more hearty offerings like turkey wrap sandwiches. Once a week there is a special surprise and fun movies are played while students choose their snacks. Some linger while some head for the busses, but all love the food, atmosphere and the time spent talking, playing board games and sharing a meal with friends and adults.

St. Ambrose Parish joined this initiative shortly after it began and it quickly became clear the program was well received by students, faculty and staff.  Originally offered only on Tuesdays it was soon decided to add another day.  St. Ambrose and the Federated Church host the Thursday After School Snack with parishioners making the snacks and handing them out while the River Church community takes care of Tuesday.  The program serves on average 150 kids in a 45 minute period and each day five items are offered from which the students may choose. The students can have these items either on their way to a sporting event or before they get on the bus. Father Royer remarked when asked about the program, “The most impressive part of this event is how polite the students are as they receive these items.  It is nice to see. It is also a good feeling to know that for those students who are coming from homes that struggle to meet their basic needs that we are able to relieve a little of their stress. This is one more example that together our church communities are able to touch many lives.”         

At the heart of this endeavor is the partnership between the community members who provide the baked goods and the churches that pay for items that are not baked. The funding of the two days of snacks provided by the churches cost around $200.00 a week for a yearly total of $7,200.00. Anyone seeking information or possibly wishing to make a donation to the program may contact Nancy Orvis at the River Community or Father Yvon Royer at St. Ambrose. Pastor Bill Elwell of the Bristol Federated Church and the Monkton Friends Church see the program not only as a blessing and a great example of Ecumenical outreach but as a way to create the sense of community. “I also love that it is multi-generational,” Pastor Elwell remarked. “It is great to watch the different generations standing side by side to reach out to yet another generation.”

While the adults see the layers of benefit and joy the program creates, leave it to the kids to get right to the heart of the matter. “It feeds us before we have to go,” chimed in one enthusiastic youngster. “It keeps up stable,” added a second. “Brain food,” chorused a third and, “It’s good for the kids to have a snack after school because some might be going home to a home that is not able to offer them enough food or proper nutrition,” added another community member present. Connor, who is another student, offered the best concluding statement of all. “Come in and get nutritional snacks,” he remarked. The program continues to grow linking generations, churches and community taking us back to the history of our region and country, where gathering together over food for community and health is not only a holiday tradition but a timeless activity for now and the future.

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