GLASGOW — Southcentral Kentucky has a hunger issue and children often suffer from it most.

Some area children have little or no food at home.

That’s why three area school districts have recently partnered with America’s Second Harvest of Kentucky’s Heartland to combat the problem.

Through America’s Second Harvest, area schools are able to send students home with nonperishable food, such as granola bars, peanut butter and crackers, and canned meals.

“We’re not a Third World country. We don’t have those bloated bellies, but there are outward signs that alert you that a child is doing without on the weekend,” said Milissa French, coordinator of America’s Second Harvest Backpack Program in Elizabethtown.

Children are referred to the program by either a teacher, family resource or youth service center coordinator or other school personnel.

“They must be showing symptoms of hunger, such as irritability, hoarding or asking for extras. Many times they will ask their teacher, ‘When’s lunch? When’s lunch?’,” French said.

The program has recently been implemented in Glasgow Independent, Barren County and Metcalfe County school systems.

The program is available to all students in the Metcalfe County School System, but only to elementary and middle school students in the Glasgow Independent School District and just elementary school students in the Barren County district.

How school officials select children for the program varies.

“One family, when I made a home visit, (the mom) questioned me about food, so I told her about the program,” said Becky Honeycutt, family resource coordinator for Highland Elementary.

Others rely on their schools’ cafeteria staffs to alert them about children who seem to be hungry on Monday mornings or who are asking for extra food when they come through the breakfast and lunch lines.

Once a child has been referred to the program, schools obtain parental permission before sending any food home.

Glasgow and Barren schools work closely with an area church and the Housing Authority of Glasgow to implement the program. The church, which asked not to be identified, is the contracting agency with America’s Second Harvest, while the Housing Authority of Glasgow is the coordinating agency.

“Since we already have a commodity program in place through America’s Second Harvest, we have to be the drop-off point for the food that is used in the backpack program,” said Sheri Lee, director of the Housing Authority of Glasgow. “We also have to place the orders.”

There are 63 students in the Glasgow and Barren County School districts enrolled in the program. The county, as a whole, can have 202 students enrolled, based on the number of children who qualify for the free and reduced lunch programs.

“We can max out at 202. We can get more, but we would have to purchase the additional bags instead of just paying for the delivery of the food,” Lee said.

Metcalfe County’s Migrant Education Program and Family Resource Centers work closely with Wisdom Faith Community Church to make the program available there.

Metcalfe County started with 26 students and now has 55 enrolled, according to April Willis-Harper, regional migrant coordinator.

“Our district qualifies for about 90 kids, so we still have open slots that we haven’t filled yet,” she said.

All involved with the program say it is worthwhile and that it meets a definite need.

“I think it’s an excellent program,” Willis-Harper said. “I wish we’d had it a long time ago.”

The program is also available in surrounding school districts.

Before working with America’s Second Harvest, Edmonson County did something similar through the Edmonson County Cooperative Extension Service. Two years ago, the school district partnered with America’s Second Harvest to expand the program.

The school district’s program now serves between 100 to 120 students a year, including Head Start and every school in the district.

Edmonson schools and the Extension Service staff work with a local church and Edmonson County Health and Rehabilitation Center to make the program work.

The nursing home has provided a room to store the food in until it is used and its residents pack the bags of food that will go home with the kids.

“Without them we couldn’t do this program,” said Libby Austin, Nutritional Education program assistant with the Edmonson County Cooperative Extension Service.

Monroe County Schools are offering a similar program.

“We have had a backpack program in our schools for the last three years,” said Sandy England, health coordinator and Family Resource and Youth Service Center District contact. “Our Teen Leadership 4-H Club applied for a grant and has been responsible for it. They work with our family resource and youth service center staff to determine the students who will receive a backpack on Friday.”

Local churches and other organizations are also involved with the program, including 4-H clubs, which fill the food bags during the week, she said.

Those involved with the programs say there is a hunger issue in the area.

“Hunger knows no age limit, no socioeconomic background,” Lee said. “There is definitely a need here in Barren County.”

Austin agrees and said, “There are many children in our county who need the extra help. There are a lot of people who need the extra help from month to month. They get food stamps, but maybe not enough to supply everything. Maybe they aren’t starving, but they aren’t getting everything they need.”