SOUTH KITSAP, Wash. — A family of rats trashes a stash of food meant for some hungry South Kitsap kids.
The founder of Backpacks for Kids made the disturbing discovery late last month.
After hearing this rat tale, the South Kitsap community stepped up to replace the meals for the month of December.
But January is coming and the cupboard is once again bare.
They feed a lot of kids with these backpacks of food, about 375 school kids here in South Kitsap County.
As you might guess, that did not matter to a family of rats. They gnawed and crawled their way into First Christian Church and had a field day.
“And they came over here and they had a rave,” she said, laughing. “A smorgasbord everything they ever wanted.”
Tish VanRavenhorst can joke now. But three weeks ago she was horrified. A family of rats had eaten their way through boxes of food stashed in the basement of the First Christian Church for her Backpacks for Kids food program.
“They were nesting in the oatmeal boxes, the ramen,” she said. “They loved the granola bars. They threw around like graffiti.”
Sort of like that rat in Charlotte’s web.
“That’s what I kind of saw happening here,” she said, laughing while watching a scene from the animated film.
But the service that these backpacks provide is no laughing matter. VanRavenhorst started Backpacks for Kids 17 years ago.
“I learned that there were kids locally who just didn’t have enough food to eat on the weekends,” she said. “And I thought that there was something we could do about that.”
So, she called the staff at nearby Sidney Glen Elementary School. Jason Shdo was its principal.
“There are definitely people over the years who have needed it as a short, kind of tide them over,” said Shdo. “And we’ve been thrilled to help families that way.”
Now the program serves the entire South Kitsap school district.
“They came in through the crawl space,” VanRavenhorst said, opening to the electrical room.
After the rat infestation, Backpacks for Kids needs help restocking its pantry.
“It was awful,” said VanRavenhorst. “We’re on the better side of it. We’re just raising money and making sure we’ve got the layout of the room right. So that when our volunteer team shows up in January it will be like nothing happened.”
She says an exterminator is now coming every week. And they think they have gotten ahead of the family of rats.
If you’d like to donate to replenish their stock, the South Kitsap Rotary is collecting the money. They will match up to $5,000.
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