Church service project prepares snack packs
From left, Audrey Donaldson, Julia Heaps and Miriam Fife assemble snack bags for New Hope and Child Protective Services.
Dennis Draleau/courtesy photo
Can a snack help?
Yes it can, according to New Hope and Child Protective Services, both agencies that serve families in crises. When children are involved in these situations, a simple snack bag can provide comfort and ease a child’s hunger and emotions.
Upon hearing of this need, members of the Young Women’s organization of the Moses Lake Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rose to the occasion. Donations were requested from the Moses Lake Fourth Ward, and the young women and their leaders collected the items and formed an assembly line to compile snack bags of water, juice, crackers, cereal bars, fruit snacks and applesauce, along with a towelette pack for cleanup. Bags were hand-decorated with cute pictures and uplifting sayings to provide a personal touch.
One of the participants, Arianna Muhlestein, commented on this service.
“I have been putting the CPS bags together for six years now and I love doing it. It’s nice to know that I can help cheer up people in need especially during the Christmas season,” she said.
Tina Steinmetz of New Hope said, “New Hope and Kids Hope are so thankful for these snack bags! We utilize them so many ways. If clients and their children come in and it is taking extra time to get them to a safe place or with a safety plan, we are able to provide handy snacks to tide them over until a warm meal can be provided.”
A total of 150 snack bags were assembled; 75 were delivered to New Hope and the other 75 to CPS to help meet this need.