Lakeshore Food 4 Kids is 2020 Lake Jump beneficiary.

Lakeshore Food 4 Kids is 2020 Lake Jump beneficiary.

LUDINGTON — The 2020 Lake Jump will benefit Lakeshore Food 4 Kids, a weekend food bag program that serves Ludington Area School students in grades kindergarten through 12th. The jump is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 at Stearns Park.

Lakeshore Food 4 Kids serves approximately 150 kids each weekend. The mission of LF4K is to diminish the meal gap for food insecure students over the weekend so they are better prepared to learn.

The program has had an impact on children’s lives.

“I have a few students who will ask me several times a week if it’s their food bag day and at least one who makes sure on Fridays to check and make sure I didn’t forget hers,” said Lakeview Elementary counselor Jen Shaw.

“We have all witnessed the difference the food bags make for our students—especially on the weekends or long breaks,” said Ludington High School counselor Laura Powers. “There is a lightness and smile that comes over students.

“The one story that especially hits me is that of a young girl who has been identified as homeless or at-risk of being homeless since she was a freshman…she is now a senior. This past fall, she teared up when we added to the regular bags an additional box filled with groceries and told her that it would be dropped off after school so she didn’t have to worry about how to transport it. She couldn’t believe the gift and said that we will never know what ‘all of this’ has meant to her over the years.”

This year, Pennies from Heaven Foundation is offering a $10,000 matching grant for the Lake Jump recipient.

For more information on Lakeshore Food 4 Kids, contact: Sara Ewing, lakeshorefood4kids@gmail.com.