Every Friday afternoon at Anna Community Consolidated School District 37, something small and quiet happens that makes a life-changing difference.

No announcements are made. No attention is drawn. A teacher might gently slip a bag into a student’s backpack. Another student might stop by a familiar classroom before heading home. By the time the final bell rings, dozens of students leave school carrying more than books and homework—they carry meals that will sustain them through the weekend.

This is the Plentiful Packs program, a simple but powerful effort ensuring that students in Anna District 37 have access to food even when school cafeterias are closed.

The district serves 556 students from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade across two buildings—Lincoln School for Pre-K through second grade, and Davie School for third through eighth grade. For some students, the meals they receive at school may be the most reliable source of nutrition they have all week. The Plentiful Packs program helps bridge the gap when those meals aren’t available.

The program began more than a decade ago, when teacher and student council sponsor Karen Collier noticed a need. She saw students who struggled during long weekends and school breaks, and she knew something had to be done. With support from local churches and student volunteers, the school created a small pantry and began sending food home with students who needed it.

What started as a grassroots effort has grown into a structured and sustainable program coordinated today by sixth-grade teacher Carolyn Gaddis.

“We currently have 28 families participating,” Gaddis said. “Our goal is to send home a bag for each child in the household so that every student has food available over the weekend.”

Today, the program operates through a partnership with the Tri-State Food Bank, a regional organization serving Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky as part of the national Feeding America network. Through a grant funded by the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation, the food bank provides pre-packaged weekend meal bags delivered directly to the school each month.

Each bag contains enough shelf-stable food for two full days, including cereal, milk, juice, fruit, and ready-to-eat meals that don’t require a can opener or heating. The simplicity ensures that students can access meals independently and reliably.

When deliveries arrive, students themselves help bring the program to life. Members of the school’s Beta Club and student council volunteer to unload the boxes and organize them in the school pantry. It’s student leadership in action—students helping ensure their classmates have what they need.

“It really is headache-free,” said Superintendent Brent Boren. “But more importantly, it’s putting food in the hands of kids. Sometimes shelf-stable food may not be perfect, but it’s far better than no food—and that’s what some of these students were facing.”

The program operates with care and discretion. Staff members work quietly to protect students’ privacy, ensuring that receiving food never becomes a source of embarrassment.

“We’re very discreet,” Boren said. “Teachers simply place the bags in backpacks. We’ve never had issues with stigma. It’s just something we do to support our students.”

Community support continues to play a vital role. Local churches and individual donors contribute funds that allow the school to provide grocery gift cards during extended breaks like winter holidays, when students may be away from school longer than usual.

For Gaddis, who coordinates the program, its impact is clear.

“I think it’s amazing,” she said. “The grant makes it accessible and easy to operate, and it allows us to make sure students have food when they need it most.”

Like many communities across southern Illinois, Anna has seen rising economic challenges in recent years. Programs like Plentiful Packs ensure that students can return to school on Monday ready to learn, rather than distracted by hunger.

Looking ahead, district leaders hope to expand similar support into the summer months, when the absence of school creates an even larger gap in food access.