Alumni group returns to school to help students fight hunger

Back-to-school means back to healthy meals for the 20% of children in Texas who struggle with hunger.

They'll get free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch; nutritious food to fuel their bodies and brains.

That connection between the meal and mind prompted a group of alumni to return to their high school in Fort Worth to help the students there now fight hunger.

"We heard there was a need on the west side, at our high school. And we were like, what? You don't want any kid to be hungry. Hungry and coming to school, they don't match up," said Patty Presley, a 1982 graduate of Western Hills and executive director of the nonprofit Cougar Pride Alliance.

She and alumni from her class and others mobilized and got busy feeding kids. They're now in the seventh year of funding and stocking Cougar Corner. It's a portable building on campus with shelves and refrigerators full of food - for the taking; for breakfast; for lunch or even for home.

"It can be any kid on this campus. Everyone is welcome to come in and get a snack, get a sandwich, get fruit, whatever it is they need," Pressley said.

Pressley found the need was often at the beginning of the school day. Kids who normally eat breakfast at school were showing up at Cougar Corner on the way to class.

"Multiple kids were coming in, and I was asking, 'What happened? Did you not get here for breakfast?' And they said, 'No, the bus just arrived.' So, that was an issue. I also think that if a kid doesn't eat dinner the night before, they're already behind. Then the kid gets to school, they don't eat breakfast," she said.

Pressley has observed something else in her time on campus.

"When we have kids in in-school suspension, I used to tell the kids, 'We give snacks away but we don't reward bad behavior.' And last year, the light bulb went on and I thought maybe these kids in ISS haven't had food and that's why that aggression is coming out," she said. "So, this semester, my goal is to make sure I get in there and talk to those kids so that if I know what the problem is, we can give them a food bag."

When a kid is hungry, it shows.

"They could be lethargic and just put their head down and want to go to sleep. Some get anxiety because they dont know when their next meal is gonna be or they're looking at their watch wondering when's lunchtime? And even when they go to lunch and eat, it might not be enough calories for them if they play sports especially," Pressley said.

The need first appeared in athletes. Sports kept some of them out of trouble. Yet, the players fighting for school pride sometimes came to school hungry.

"One of the soccer coaches said, if we weren't here, he doesn't think some of his kids would pass his class," Pressley said.

In the beginning, kids were embarrassed to get the free food or the clothes and shoes that are also available.

Now, they come on in, gather at the table for hot meals frequently cooked by Pressley and her posse of volunteers and know they've got a team on their side.

"Just ask and somebody's gonna help you get food," she said.

The Cougar Pride Alliance recently expanded the mission to deploy human and financial resources to support students at elementary and middle schools that feed into Western Hills High School. Those schools include Leonard Middle, Western Hills Elementary and Primary, Waverly Park and Luella Merrett Elementary

Grants and help from the nonprofit LVTRISE will help other alumni serve Western Hills Elementary and Leonard Middle in portables that will be similar to Cougar Corner.

Send donations via PayPal to: patty@whhscougarpridefoundation.orgm or via Venmo: patty@whhscougarpridefoundation.org

Send by mail to:

WHHS Cougar Pride Foundation

4455 Camp Bowie Blvd, Ste 114

PMB 109

Fort Worth, TX 76107