WACO, TX — For some kids, the food they receive at school could be the only meal they receive that day.
To combat this grim reality, Prosper Waco and Grassroots Waco have teamed up to create not only ways to deliver food to families, but also other essentials during this tough time.
The need goes beyond food in Central Texas.
With so many families facing financial difficulty during this time, Prosper Waco wanted to create care packages that fit the specific needs of a family.
“When we see a need beyond the food, we are able to fill some of those food needs like for a weekend pack of food. We are also filling in the toiletries, the school supplies, the cleaning supplies, the diapers, and we are really targeting the vulnerable families. The families who say I don’t have a job, or my paycheck is not until next week," said Hermann Pereira.
Transformation Waco and Waco ISD member's job will then be to reach out and find these vulnerable families within the Waco school district.
“We have two different processes. First we have our family supports specialist and school social workers who reach out to our families, or if the families have reached out to them. Then our second process is through We Care Wednesday phone calls. Every Wednesday our teachers from all five of our campuses reach out to families,” said Sarah Pedrotti.
Once the family's needs are identified, Prosper Waco and Grassroots Waco assemble the packages and deliver them right to people’s doorsteps.
“A lot of the families we are working with have transportation issues, and so actually going out to a food pantry or going out to some of these other available resources is not an option for them," said Josh Caballero.
Monday was their first day to start the program, and they were able to deliver care packages to over 40 families. Next week, they plan to expand and start delivering to school districts outside of Waco ISD.
If you would like to donate food and items, you can drop them off at First Baptist Church in Waco on Mondays through Thursdays between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.
If you need assistance or would like to help, they ask you contact Prosper Waco or Grassroots Waco.
To contact Prosper Waco, you can go to prosperwaco.org or email Hermann Pereira at Hermann@prosperwaco.org.
To contact Grassroots Waco, you can go to grassrootswaco.org or email Josh Caballero at Josh@grassrootswaco.org.
