(Reeds Spring, MO) -- Next week most of us will probably be stuffing ourselves with tons of turkey, dressing and desserts. But some kids in our area, struggle each week to simply get enough to eat.  A Weekend Backpack Program started by the Kimberling City United Methodist Church is helping.  

Over the last few months teachers at Reeds Spring Elementary have started keeping a list of some of the comments kids have made about the Weekend Backpack Program, here's what one little girl in kindergarten said. "I like it because it's good. Mommy doesn't buy that kind of food and sometimes we run out." 

Organizers say comments like those, are the reason they started this program. "Before the backpack program, Friday's were really hard on our staff because those babies didn't want to go home because they knew they weren't going to have enough food to eat," said Principal Tonya Pettypiece.

"It's extremely sad as a teacher knowing you're sending kids home to that and you have no control over it," said Kindergarten teacher Beth Boyer.

That's until last December, when a local church in Kimberling City decided to step in and help. It found that over sixty percent of the children at Reeds Spring Primary and Elementary School participate in the free and reduced lunch program. "That told us that there were a lot of kids that were possibly nutritionally deficient," said Cheryl Liles.

So they started filling up backpacks, more than ninety of them each week, with enough food to feed each child the whole weekend. "Right now its costing us a little over twenty thousand dollars a school year to keep the program going, so fundraising is ongoing," said Liles.

The church is passing out flyers to encourage people to sponsor a student. 300 dollars will feed one child for an entire year. "We don't know who the kids are, we just know numbers," said Liles.

Right now the program serves kids in the primary school through 4th grade. And the need isn't going away.  "Now that's our highest attendance for those kids, Friday, because they don't want to miss their food," said Pettypiece.

Boyer said the weekend backpack program is not only helping the kids get the nutrition they need, they're also doing better in school. "They come in bright eyed, ready to learn. They're not lethargic, they're just ready, their brains are physically fed and they're ready to learn," said Boyer.

Right now the weekend backpack program only serves kids up to the fourth grade but eventually organizers would like to also offer it for older children. But right now they don't have enough money to do that. If you're interested in donating money to Kimberling City's Weekend Backpack for Kids Program, call Susan Vaughn with the Kimberling City United Methodist Church at 417-739-4070 or Reeds Spring School District at (417) 272-8173 for more information.