POWERGRAMS

Hunger doesn't take a break on the weekend. Thanks to Sharon and Lane Ross, about 70 needy children at Wilsonville Elementary School are enjoying satisfying meals. For more than two years, the Ross's have provided weekend meals to schoolchildren who get free or reduced-price school breakfasts and lunches. The couple prepares weekend care packages of food as part of the Backpack Buddies program through Vineyard Family Services (VFS) of Central Alabama. VFS supplies food and other essentials to public school students ages 5 through 14 who don't get enough food when not at school. Kids' weekend menu items include ravioli, Vienna sausages, chocolate and vanilla pudding cups, fruit cups, apple sauce, instant soup, fruit juice, cereals, ramen noodles and other easy-to-fix items. The Ross's make sure to buy foods in pop- open or microwaveable containers, in case children are by themselves. Each bag – enough for two days – includes a breakfast item, a meat and a side item, a snack, a drink and a dessert. Special treats are included at Christmas and Easter. The Ross's take pleasure in what might be a daunting task for others: four to five hours of shopping for groceries that tempt a child's palate. Every two weeks during the school year, the couple makes the 1-hour drive from their home on Lay Lake to Sam's Club in Hoover. "We heard about the program through an advertisement by VFS at our church, and we decided to get involved," said Sharon Ross, secretary for the Gaston Energizers Chapter. Energizers is the charitable service arm for retirees of Alabama Power, Southern Nuclear and Southern Company Services in Alabama. "VFS gives us a list of foods they want us to use, or to stay away from, such as peanut products" she said. "There are a lot of hungry kids statewide and 13 Backyard Blessings ENERGIZERS ENERGIZERS LANE AND SHARON ROSS MAKE STUDENTS' WEEKENDS BETTER by DONNA COPE Sharon and Lane Ross take snacks from boxes to fill weekend care packages. Photos by Donna Cope

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