Located in the heart of Midtown Kansas City, Citizens of the World is a public charter school that educates more than 400 students from kindergarten through 8th grade.
The school’s curriculum is designed to not only give the students basic knowledge, but also seeks to integrate social-emotional learning and real-life examples of how what they learn can be applied to affect change in the world around them.
It’s a notably diverse school, both in its staff and student base, and they lean into that as one of their core values. Students in the school come from a wide swath of racial, cultural and economic backgrounds. Unfortunately, some of them experience ongoing food insecurity.
Harvesters partners with Citizens of the World to offer both our BackSnack and School Pantry programs to the students and families that need food assistance. Jessica Cox, the school social worker responsible for heading up these efforts in the school, says she sees firsthand the effects that hunger has on her students.
“They have a hard time focusing if their tummies are grumbling, or they didn’t get breakfast that morning,” she says. “Especially with little kids, hunger definitely impacts their learning.”
Harvesters’ BackSnack program allows students to receive a bag of food that fits into their backpack containing snacks and some staple foods to eat over the weekend. Jamal*, age 10, says that he sometimes uses ingredients from his BackSnack to help his mom cook at home.
“I made chicken and rice, and spaghetti,” he says. “I made the chili too, which was my favorite.”
Citizens of the World takes a unique approach to distributing BackSnacks to its students. Rather than simply having a staff member drop them off to each classroom, students from the special education program are given the task of helping with the deliveries. It’s often a highlight of their day.
His brother James*, age six, says enthusiastically, and repeatedly, that his favorite thing to get in his BackSnack is oatmeal.
Josh Albarelli, the Special Education Teacher who spearheads this endeavor, says his main goal is to give his high-needs students authentic and meaningful learning experiences in the school. One of his students, Kenneth, is non-verbal, and communicates via a sound board. Josh says that making BackSnack deliveries is one of Kenneth’s favorite activities.
“It’s one of about three or four tasks that he can do in his whole life independently,” Josh says. “He can grab the cart; he can pull the snacks out. I would say it’s equivalent to your day job. It has a lot of value. Some teachers say, ‘Hey, thank you for dropping them off’ and the kids will clap for Kenneth. That’s the most interaction he gets from his peers in a day, so it’s a big deal.”
The school pantry helps in a slightly different way than the BackSnacks, and is aimed at providing extra food for the entire family unit. Families can show up on a first come-first serve basis and choose what they need for the week. Jessica has developed a good relationship with many of the regulars and enjoys hearing them talk about what dishes they’ll make with the food they’re taking home.
“The whole thing is about relationships,” she says. “I would consider the giving of food as just one part of what we hope that our services can help with.”
Click here to learn more about Harvesters’ programs that feed children experiencing food insecurity in our community.
*Name changed to preserve privacy.