'Packed with Love' concert benefits snack program

The Flathead School Snack Program is hosting an evening featuring world-renowned Wai Mizutani and Friends, Friday, Feb. 15, in Conference Hall 139, of the Arts and Technology Building at Flathead Valley Community College.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for a silent auction and light fare preceding the concert at 7 p.m.

The Flathead School Snack Program serves over 250 students in eight schools in the Kalispell area and over 200 in Columbia Falls — that amounts to more than 10,000 snacks that are packed every month and provided confidentially to every identified student in need, a brown bag filled with 10 snacks every week. Each bag has an affirming message written with love inside. For some, this will be the most positive message they hear during the week, besides the snacks to help them get through their day.

Founder Molly Thibert started this program out of her living room in the fall of 2017.

“We believe that students should never feel less than or left out simply because they are unable to bring enough food to school,” Thibert said. “When we began it took hours to fill the bags with a handful of volunteers. Today we have been able to complete a month’s worth of bags in an hour with a small army of volunteers in the Edgerton Elementary cafeteria. “We’ve grown, but so have the numbers we serve.”

Teacher and school counselors agree the snacks improve concentration, focus and motivation to engage.

“Perhaps these students are lifted knowing that people took the time and care to pack a bag with snacks and love,” Thibert said. “One student has started a collage of the notes they get to remind them of the warmth they feel when they receive a bag every week. This is their joy in what they receive.”

For further information, contact Lily Kirsanow 619-708-1099.