Hundreds of children attending La Mesa-Spring Valley School District schools will have a holiday meal this season thanks to the generosity of staff, parents and students at Parkway Middle School in La Mesa as well as members of Legacy Church, a Christian church that meets on Sundays at Parkway Middle School.
Parkway Middle School’s second annual “Parkway Holiday Food Drive” has begun distribution of 162 cloth tote bags filled with canned foods and nonperishable food items donated by Parkway students over a two-week period.
Also donating canned goods were members of Legacy Church, Fletcher Hills Kiwanis Club and office staff at the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District headquarters
Thirty of the 162 bags are allocated to Parkway students. In addition to food items, the bags for Parkway students will include a $25 grocery store gift card donated by Legacy Church.
The remaining 132 bags will be distributed to 17 schools that are part of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. Some schools have donors, including service clubs, who have added gift cards for their bags, according to Sue Youngflesh, office manager at Parkway Middle School.
Students who receive the holiday meal bag may be selected by a teacher, administrator, school office manager or homeless counselor at each school, according to Youngflesh. “It might be a teacher, principal, counselor or cafeteria manager who knows which families at their school would benefit the most from a bag of groceries at the holidays,” she said.
Youngflesh organizes the annual holiday food drive with assistance from Legacy Church member Lisa Gruber.