Gina Colville, Office Manager of Eyear Optical, an optometrist center in Southaven, Mississippi, said that Dr. John Carlson OD, asked her to find a nonprofit organization that his practice could support through the Extra Credit Donation Program. She said, “Through Dr. Carlson, we give back to the community. We support many organizations and help financially a family at Christmas. We looked for a local charitable organization that helped kids to which we could provide regular financial support. We found Hunger2Hope and have been so pleased to financially partner with them.” From the processing fees paid by Eyear Optical to Heartland Payment Systems, Extra Credit and Heartland Payment Systems make a financial contribution on behalf of Eyear Optical to Hunger2Hope each month.

Beth Gardner, Founder and Executive Director of Hunger2Hope said, “I began Hunger2Hope in 2015 as a result of seeing students in my class at Southaven Intermediate school who were not performing in school as well as they could due to a lack of food.” While the students were receiving free or reduced-price lunches during the week days, some students had nothing to eat over the weekends. This lack of food affected the student’s ability to learn and interact with other students. She felt that something could be done so began the program at Southpoint Church in Southaven, MS with a group of some women. “We used to put food servings inside back packs and deliver them to students so the children and their families would have food to eat over the weekends. Today, after COVID, we use plastic sacks,” Gardner said. Each sack gets about $10 worth of food, including multiple servings of protein or soup, breakfast and snack items, and juices. Also, Gardner is looking for more schools to participate with Hunger2Hope for students in their schools.

Food items and sacks are donated from businesses, churches, individuals, and groups. Money to purchase the food is donated from food drives held by many groups and organizations, and from churches and individuals. Gardner said, “Eyear Optical is such a good and consistent donor to us.”

Teachers, youth from Southpoint Church, and volunteers pack the sacks on Wednesdays and deliver them to the five participating schools so the children could pick up the sacks at the end of school on Friday before they leave the school for the weekends.

Gardner said, “Teachers recommend children to us. We first contact the parents for permission to make the sacks available to the children and whether there are any allergies of which we need to be aware. We discreetly make the sacks available to the kids in several ways, so the children are not embarrassed by taking food home to their family.”

Each school has a Coordinating Teacher who organizes the program and teachers in their school. Laura Isom, the Coordinating Teacher at Southaven Intermediate School said, “I love helping students and love how this program accomplishes that. Last fall, one first grade student’s’ house burnt down with most everything lost or destroyed by the fire. I immediately contacted the parents of the student and Hunger2Hope began providing food for the weekends for the student and family.”

In addition to providing foodstuffs to students, Gardner and the Coordinating Teachers recruit anonymous sponsors who pray for and put hand-written notes, Bible verses, words of encouragement, and remembrances that the child is loved into every sack. “The child is encouraged and reminded that they are loved by someone outside of their family,” said Gardner. “The children are blessed as much by the notes and expressions of love as they are for the food in the sacks. One little girl keeps each note underneath her bed, her special place.”

“God has his hand on this ministry as we deliver food and create relationships with the children through the notes,” Gardner said. “I know that feeding the children is important, but I feel like the hand-written notes of affirmation and encouragement are just as important to Him.”

For more information, visit www.hunger2hope.com.