Community Builder: Lexington man turns around Snack Sack program

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - The Snack Sack program, based out of Lexington United Methodist Church, sources food to 11 public schools.

Our latest Community Builder is Rick Cunningham, who leads the Snack Sack program.

“It’s not so much that we are buying food for kids who don’t necessarily have food, and their parents are not working -- it’s just we have a lot of folks in Lexington that work, but they are the working poor so they don’t have enough money to feed their children the way they need to feed them," Cunningham explained. "So all we do, is we try to supplement that for them.”

Volunteer Kathy Seeby has been working with the program for years

“It takes several hours a week to pack all these bags," she said.

When Cunningham took over the Snack Sack program, volunteers say he changed the menu to more nutritious meals and grew the program tremendously.

“I’m thinking we would not make it 2 months if we are lucky," Seeby said. "And we are now on our third year of giving them a much more nutritious meal -- and that was all from Rick.”

Seeby nominated Cunningham to be a Community Builder in partnership with Mungo Homes. She says Cunningham’s leadership has helped raise the funds needed to order food each month.

And, after discovering high school students are sometimes too embarrassed to take a snack sack home, Cunningham introduced a new program to bring the food to teachers and coaches who have a need.

Seeby reflects on administrators she has seen help distribute food.

“Sometimes a coach will have snacks in his class, so we figured out kids will go in there, they will eat right there, that way they don’t have to carry a bag around,” she said.

Volunteers say the program feeds more than 1,400 students in Lexington county.

This ministry is not funded through the church budget, but is supported by members of the congregation and the community.

Do you have someone who you would like to nominate as our next Community Builder? Click or tap here.

Each Community Builder receives $1,000 from the Michael J. Mungo Foundation to donate to the designated 501c3 of their choice.

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