The stories from California are heartbreaking. I considered holding off on asking for donations. Still, I learned that more than 150 family children in the Children’s Backpack Weekend Hunger Program need help and have requested weekend food assistance. The number of requests from pantry families for the program doubled from last year—no wonder they need a hand.

No child in this or any country should expect to be hungry for a weekend when school closes. This plea will be up all weekend.

(Please notice Sarah’s request for condiments now that she has received some meat condiments for the first time in a long while.

So, I put uup a list of 4 urgently needed items, all at modest prices. One crisis can’t wait for another. These families acknowledge that when the children are out of food and away from school lunch programs, they often have nothing or little to eat and dread being out of School on Fridays.

This program, supported by Cambridge Central School and operated by Cambridge Pantry volunteers, is essential to these families. Over the weekend, I plan to send the four requested items to the pantry on the blog every day. The kids pick up their backpacks this coming Thursday.

Here are the three items the backpackers most need:

Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Maple & Brown Sugar, Individual Packets, 1.51 Ounce Packs, 151. Ounce (Pack of 48), $10.78.

Pop-Tarts Toaster Pastries, Breakfast Foods, Kids Snacks, Variety Pack, 54 1.0z Box (32 Pop-Tarts), $9.99.

Carnation Breakfast Essentials, Power Drink Mix, Rich Milk Chocolate, 1.26 (Pack of 22), $9.97.

Honey Nut Cheerios Heart Healthy Breakfast Cereal, Gluten-Free Cereal with Whole Grain Oats, 10.8, $2,79.

_____

Next, some other news for pantry members and donors. The local New York food bank sent Sarah some hot dogs and sausages; now, they seem to have some tasty condiments to go with them. This is a rare treat for the pantry kids and families; Sarah is requesting these two items to make it even better:

Vlasic Squeezeable Homestyle Sweet Relish, No Sugar Added, Keto Friendly, 8 Pack-9 FL Oz Bottles, $13.92.

Gulden Squeeze Brown Mustard, $19.92.

Ramen chicken noodles.

You can access the Cambridge Pantry Amazon Food Wish List by clicking on any link or the green box at the bottom of every blog post. The list is updated regularly, and everything on it is urgently needed.  Thank you for browsing and making your donations. We appreciate your help.

From the Amazon checkout page, you can send Sara and the Cambridge Pantry Volunteers messages of hope and appreciation for their work.