NEW DAY food drive through Nov. 13
You can help make sure Arlington ISD students are always ready for school on Mondays. Donate food items now through Nov. 13 to help NEW DAY Arlington provide weekend meal bags for students all year long. Donations are being accepted now through Nov. 13 at the Arlington ISD Professional Development Center (1111 W. Arbrook).
For some Arlington ISD students, a bag of food can mean more than a meal. It can mean having something to eat throughout the weekend and returning to school on Monday ready to learn.
Through its partnership with Arlington ISD, NEW DAY Arlington is working to fight weekend hunger by providing food-insecure students with meal bags filled with easy-to-prepare, individually portioned food items.
Last year, Arlington ISD recognized NEW DAY’s impact in the community by presenting the organization with the Community Partner Award that recognized NEW DAY’s commitment to supporting local students and families and the shared dedication to meeting students’ needs beyond the classroom.
NEW DAY recognizes that hunger can be a barrier to learning and works to provide food-insecure students with weekend meals so they can return to school ready to learn.
Each week, NEW DAY volunteers purchase, pack, and deliver meal bags to campuses, where school counselors distribute them to students who need additional support.
The bags contain items that require little to no preparation, including ravioli cups, ramen noodles, meat sticks, granola bars, cereal cups, applesauce cups, and crackers. Each bag costs approximately $5 to prepare, making every donation an opportunity to help meet a student’s basic needs.
The impact extends beyond the food itself.
“For some students, these meal bags provide their only food for the weekend,” said Arlington ISD Professional Learning Specialist Nikki Thompson. “We’ve heard from parents who shared that without these bags, they wouldn’t know how they would provide for their families. That’s why we do what we do: for Arlington ISD, for the families, and for the kids.”
How You Can Support
Community members can support this mission through the districtwide food donation drive benefiting NEW DAY. Donations of individually packaged, non-expired food items are welcome, including beef sticks, canned ravioli, ramen noodle packets, granola bars, individual boxes or bags of cereal, applesauce cups, and crackers.
Peanut and peanut butter products are not accepted.
Donations must be dropped off at the Professional Development Center (PDC) by Nov. 13.
Through the generosity of NEW DAY, Arlington ISD can help ensure all students have access to food when they need it most. When students have their basic needs met, they are better positioned to focus on what matters: learning, growing, and reaching their full potential.
To learn more about NEW DAY Arlington or make a donation, visit newdayarlington.org.