Hundreds of students in food-insecure homes will be receiving bags of food every Friday this school year thanks to the self-proclaimed “Bag Ladies” of Care Help of Sulphur.

Fourteen years ago, Care Help established their “Backpack Blessings” program. This initiative actively works with teachers throughout Southwest Louisiana to deliver bags of food to students that face food insecurity on the weekends.

This program is volunteer- and donation-based. Foods that are not donated are bought in bulk with money raised by the Care Help thrift store and monetary donations. The bag contains 10 non-perishable food items — two proteins, two breakfast items, one fruit, one pudding, crackers, one treat and one drink.

According to Mary Jane Fields, a four-year volunteer, teachers identify the students during the beginning of the year, and report to their school a headcount of food-insecure children. The schools then report to Care Help, who add the number to their list without questions.

The group suspects many of the children who face food insecurity live in a home that receives SNAP benefits, but understand the importance of giving the students a little power in their difficult situations.

“They don’t have control over the card,” Fields said. “We believe they might have control over this little bag.”

The Backpack Blessings are something they look forward to receiving, she said.

“They’re already thinking about their evening meal on Friday,” she continued. “We always pray that they get something added from someone’s pot, but we know these kids are in situations that they can’t help.”

Students take this responsibility seriously, and it has been reported that many of them share their bags with their younger siblings.

This year, the demand for Backpack Blessings is greater so the Bag Ladies got an early start.

“We normally don’t start until after Labor Day,” said Jody Farnum, Care Help executive director. “But this year, they wanted to know how soon we can start”

After just the first days of school, four schools contacted Care Help needing 220 requested bags. When the program first began, about 200 bags were delivered a week. At the end of the last school year, the team was packing over 650 bags a week.

“It just keeps growing,” Farnum said.

The program helps its volunteers, as well. Many of the volunteers are retired career women.

“We call ourselves the Bag Ladies,” Fields said. “This is a wonderful group.”

There are 18 volunteers to help with Backpack Blessings, which is a large number compared to previous years.

“More and more people are learning about it,” Fields said. “We invite recent retirees. They know about the work we’re doing and the joy it’s given us, and I think they just want a piece of that. That joy spreads.”

The community the Bag Ladies have built has become vital for them.

“We have a camaraderie with each other,” she said. “We are prayer warriors for each other, and servants of the Lord.”

They all have their roles, be it stocker, bagger, or cleaner. While the tasks might seem tedious from an outside perspective, the Bag Ladies believe volunteering is “kinda like a prayer.”

“I find it gives me purpose. We’re called to be servants. Many of us served our families, kids and grandkids, and now we’re at this place where we have time to help elsewhere,” Fields said. “I think it fills a void that you have in this season of life”

Despite the personal benefits they gain, this program is all about the students. “I can’t say enough about how we feel about the kids.”

“We care about these kids. We don’t know them, we don’t have to,” said Fields. “We try to stop every week and pray for our kids, involving their situations”

Backpack Blessings services E. K. Key, Cypress Cove, R.W. Vincent, Sulphur High, Sulphur 9th grade, W.W. Lewis, LeBlanc, Head Start, Frasch, Henning, Hackberry, SPAS, Vincent Settlement, and Vinton Elementary. Starks, Vinton Middle, Vinton High, DeQuincy, and Johnson Bayou are slated to join the roster.

If you are interested in becoming a Bag Lady, or Man, or wish to donate to Backpack Blessings, contact Farnum at Care Help of Sulphur.