Superior School’s Elementary Administrative Assistant and Afterschool Coordinator Dawn Bauer has been recognized for her work in securing food for hungry children. She was presented with an award during the Montana Food Bank Network (MFBN) event, The Taste, on March 8. This is an annual fundraiser for the food bank and was held at the Neptune Aviation airplane hangar in Missoula. Where over 100 food and drinks were prepared by nearly 40 local chefs, brewers, distiller and other food establishments.

Along with the award ceremony, there was a silent auction and raffles. Superior School Superintendent Scott Kinney accompanied Bauer to the event along with their spouses.

“She is the reason Superior is what it is,” Kinney said, referring to the school’s extensive programs and resources to help their students. There is a resource room filled with clothes, hygiene products, food and even a washer and dryer for kid’s dirty clothes.

Bauer recognizes the importance of not only keeping kids fed, but also keeping them clean and comfortable. Elementary School Principal Logan Labbe commented that Bauer’s philosophy about the students is this: “When they are here (at the school) they are ours and we take care of them like they are our own,” Labbe said.

Bauer was recognized with a beautiful custom-made clay bowl which reads, “2019 Hunger Hope Award, thank you for your dedication to ending Hunger in Montana.” She was specifically recognized for her work with the BackPack Program. The program distributes food to students on weekends and holidays. The small packages of food contain pre-packed, kid-friendly nutritious foods. Bauer, along with Kinney, started the program in Superior years ago.

The Hope Award is presented to anyone who supports, volunteers or partners with the MFBN or has made significant contributions to hunger in Montana. Chief Programs Officer for the MFBN Stephanie Stratton said in her bio of Bauer during the ceremony that, “Dawn has taken school resources to a new level. Superior School has participated in the BackPack Program since 2013 providing weekend food to 40 elementary students each week for 6 years! In 2015, they added the additional resource of a School Pantry to assist more students and families with food, clothing, school supplies, toiletries, and many other needs.

IN ADDITION to these resources, the Superior School District recently acquired a washing machine and dryer to help students who don’t have access, so they can learn confidently in clean clothes at school.

Research shows that the stigma students experience when they are unable to wash clothing leads to increased absences from school, and Superior School has addressed that issue to ensure that all students are comfortable coming to school.

Bauer has also implemented summer cooking programs, a hydroponic indoor garden, raised bed outdoor gardens, and is the ‘go-to person’ at Superior School (maybe all of Mineral County) for everything.

The other award recipients this year went to the Ford Foundation and St. Vincent De Paul in Great Falls.

“I certainly don’t do what I do to get a plate, award or anything else,” said Bauer. “Although The Taste was a totally cool experience. It’s simply the right thing to do. The center of the home used to be the family table, where everyone gathered, shared their day and a meal. Some or most of what they ate was what they’d grown, raised or preserved, again as a family. In these times, families are sometimes fractured, for various reasons.

“If we, even a tiny bit, can help families get back to that shared experience, making memories over a meal that we can help them create, either through our pantry efforts, using our school gardens to show kiddos how to grow their own produce or our 21st Century Community Learning Center summer school efforts to teach both parents and kids how to then preserve what they’ve grown, we can help nurture their minds, bodies and souls,” she said. “These aren’t ‘one and done’ classes, but a skillset with lifelong ramifications for a future of positive change, healthy eating and a sense of self-reliance and pride.”

Stratton said she works with 124 Montana schools and Bauer stands out among all of them. “She’s my ‘go-to’ person whenever we are looking at additional resources or at ways to improve our programs.” Stratton said.

ON AVERAGE more than half of the students in Mineral County participate in the free or reduced-priced lunch program, according to Montana Kids Count and the No Kid Hungry Program. State-wide nearly one out of every five kids in Montana struggle with hunger during their childhood, according to reports.

While families struggle with the crushing effects of poverty, children struggling with hunger are more likely to have impaired cognitive development, lower math and reading scores, and higher rates of absenteeism.

Through her years of working for the district, Bauer has seen her share of children who come to school hungry. Rather than just feel sorry for them, she has taken the lead on doing something about it.

“Our kids in junior high and high school are blessed to have her and her support for our kiddos. She helps a lot with kids,” said Superior High School Principal Chris Clairmont.

The MFBN currently partners with 140 agencies across Montana to provide food for those in need. In 2016, nearly 95,000 Montanans received food through the agencies in their network. They include food pantries in St. Regis, Superior and Alberton. In addition to providing emergency food, the network works to increase participation in the public food programs and supports policies to bring sustainable long-term solutions to hunger.