WILTON — Filling one cloth tote at a time, two local churches have responded to concerns about schoolchildren going without food at home.

A new program, Teresa’s Totes, began last fall for a small, local school where the need is high for subsidized or reduced lunches.

Members of Henderson Memorial Baptist Church in Farmington and Dryden Baptist Church in Wilton pack food in cloth shopping bags and leave the totes at the school for students or their families to take home.

A few volunteers gathered Tuesday to fill 10 bags, an act repeated about every two weeks, with boxes of cereal, pasta and spaghetti sauce. They added cans of tuna, along with veggies and soup and food children can prepare, such as jars of peanut butter and boxes of crackers, organizers Crystal McBean and Lory Zamboni said.

They had no idea who or how many are fed from the items they’ve solicited from church members and at their jobs or purchased with donations. It’s an anonymous mission to help “take care of kids,” Zamboni said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

When children attend school, breakfast and lunch are available, but some go hungry on weekends. One in six people in Maine is living with hunger, according to a U.S. Agriculture Department report.

“There is a need,” the school principal said.

At the start of the school year, teachers were asked for names of those whom they thought might be hungry during the weekend, based on comments and observations of whether the student brings a snack to school.

Thirteen names were quickly suggested. Letters went home tactfully asking if the family was comfortable with their supply of groceries and whether they would like to receive a tote, the principal said. Most families indicated they were OK, but a few families with several children have since picked up the totes at the school on a regular basis. The families return the cloth totes for reuse.

“It’s easy for the school to administer,” the principal said.

The name, Teresa’s Totes, was inspired by a song sung by John Michael Talbot and based on the prayer of St. Teresa. It suggests, “We’re God’s body, the hands that feed for Him,” McBean said.

Small-group opportunities, ones based on learning, fellowship and missions, were offered at Henderson last summer. Organizers learned about a church in Oregon and one in Oakland, Maine, that had similar programs. Backpacks were filled with food for students to take home.

Backpacks are expensive, so “we used what we have,” Zamboni said of the grocery bags donated to the cause.

Those interested in helping can leave food at the Farmington church by calling 778-2163 for more information. Check donations can be sent to Dryden Baptist Church at P.O. Box 64, Dryden, ME 04225.

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