Allentown West Rotarians, Parkland High's Interact Club and the Operation Snack Pack Connection packed a punch against poverty recently by delivering over 165 snack packs to homes in the school district where many students are earmarked as qualifying for federal income assistance.

Though it is not widely known, 12 percent to 15 percent of students in Northwestern Lehigh and Parkland school districts qualify for federal poverty assistance.

An alarming one in five Parkland students receive free or reduced lunches and, for many of them, this is the only true meal they can expect to eat on any given weekday.

"After school and on weekends, these children may go without food entirely," said Sue Weber, Rotary Assistant Governor for Area 1.

The Rotary Club of Allentown West has made it their mission to help these families by developing a program called Operation Snack Pack Connection.

The program runs twice a month and involves packing and delivering snack packs to identified families.

The snack packs contain various non-perishable food items such as cereal, one-dish meals, fruit and healthy snacks.

They are distributed to students every other Friday.

The Rotarians, along with Parkland's Interact Club, put together these packs to be delivered to homes from the eight elementary schools.

"The packs are discreetly and confidentially distributed by the schools, to the economically disadvantaged students they identify,"Weber said

Rotary started this program in January at Parkland.

Interact member and now a rising junior Jack Dreisbach commented on the program.

"I knew there were a couple of kids who might need help, but not this many," Dreisbach said. "I think it's really great the school is helping them."

Bryce Galloway, also a rising junior, discussed the program.

"This whole thing makes me appreciate what I have a lot more," Galloway said.

The Rotary is looking for additional partners to help with the cost of providing snack packs to at-risk children in both the Parkland and Northwestern Lehigh school districts.

"Sustainability is important," said Sam Holendar, president of the Parkland Interact Club. "It's our goal to maintain this project for a long period of time."

In addition to the snack pack program, the Rotary Club provides dictionaries to every third-grade student in both the Parkland and Northwestern districts.

"Rotary is an International organization with over 1.2 million members worldwide," Weber said. "We are presently working with a school in Sierra Leone, West Africa, as well as our school districts."

Interact Club member, Michael Zeky, a rising sophomore, commented, as he was packing up the snacks for distribution.

"It's awful most kids take what they have for granted," Zeky said. "I never realized some of my classmates were in such a bad place.

"We should help fight hunger where it matters most first… right in our own backyard…"

Rotarian Gloria Zimmerman accepts donations for the snack pack program. Be sure to specify the school district.

For information, email her at gfzimm@ptd.net.