Starfish

Why Do Starfish Packs Exist? The Starfish Pack Backpack Program was created in response to teachers hearing the cry of their students. Teachers were heartbroken to hear their students were coming to class Monday morning hungry, reporting that they had not eaten over the weekend. Sadly, 400 elementary school children have been identified by the Abbotsford School District as being in need of food over the weekend. Now over 263 backpacks are packed with food and are going home with the students over the weekend from 22 different schools.

“400 elementary school children are going without food over the weekend”

At the outset of the 2013-2014 school year, the Abbotsford Rotary Club met with the Abbotsford School District to determine the scope of need and the priority order of schools. It was determined that nearly 400 elementary school children throughout Abbotsford’s public schools depends on either an in-school breakfast and/or lunch program as their sole source of nutrition during a normal school day. A conservative estimate indicated that over 300 of those students were also going completely without nutritional meals of any kind over a normal two day weekend. To become a partner please contact your City’s Starfish Pack program by clicking the “Location” link in the top menu or feel free to contact us through this website. This new program could not be possible without the generosity of some key players–including the Rotary Club of Abbotsford and many other volunteer partners, including local businesses, faith groups and individuals.