How District 191 harnesses the power of community to reduce hunger.

Picture a bag with enough food items to provide four meals for a single student. Simple items like oatmeal, ramen, single-serve snacks, crackers, juice boxes, milk, meat and cheese sticks that will be about three pounds or less when full. This is what student volunteers and community members are packing each week at Burnsville High School, 800-850 bags at a time. 

BrainPower in a BackPack is the overarching Hunger Relief Program through District 191, 191 Community Education, Burnsville High School Youth Services and Burnsville High School which benefits all students, staff and families in the district. High school students and community volunteers assemble hunger relief packages via three programs, including BrainPower in a BackPack, 191 Community Pantry and the seasonal 191 Fresh Produce Distribution. 

The weekly packing events are full of activity and excitement. BrainPower in a BackPack Coordinator Pamela Voigt shares that while the BHS Cafeteria may look a little chaotic during these events, there is a method to the madness. 

“We usually have about 20-25 students on Thursdays who start out by preparing all of the bags that come in sets of 100 by separating them out and then they start making laps to pack the bags,” said Voigt. “BrainPower can take 15 minutes to pack those 800 bags with a lot of volunteers because they move quickly. We have a couple of folks who do two bags at a time!”

Volunteers are excited to be a part of this program. For high school students, 25% of volunteers have at some point received food from BrainPower, so they are passionate about doing it for other students because they know the impact it has. The program is budgeted for 32 volunteer-run packing events a year with the food going directly to students, who can sign up at the schools or be referred by a school social worker.

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Eight extraordinary volunteers were chosen to receive the 2025 John Coskran Volunteer Awards in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191.

“The District 191 community has always had a strong culture of service to others, and these outstanding volunteers are representative of that culture and of our District’s core value of creating a caring community,” said Superintendent Dr. Theresa Battle. “I’m so proud of them and thankful for all they do for our students, staff and families.” 

Winners were honored during the Board of Education meeting on Thursday, June 12. 

BrainPower Volunteer Recipients of the 2025 John Coskran Volunteer Award are: 

• Miaoting Fang, a senior at Burnsville High School, is a longtime volunteer for BrainPower in a Backpack and other food distribution projects. She’s volunteered more than 330 hours to various programs during her high school career, and is a member of the school’s Youth Service Advisory Council.   

• William Nurminen, a senior at Burnsville High School, is a longtime volunteer for BrainPower in a Backpack, serving as a team captain, ensuring accurate meal delivery counts each week. He’s also a member of the BHS National Honor Society and BHS Link Crew, supporting peers through tutoring and helping new students feel welcome and comfortable at the school.  

• Tiffany Rupp provides support in numerous areas across District 191, including as a classroom, lunchroom and safety patrol volunteer at Harriet Bishop Elementary and also with the district’s food security programs. Along with helping deliver meals for BrainPower in a Backpack, she prepares bags of produce for Tuesday Pantry and supports the Bowls for BrainPower fundraiser in multiple ways.  

Click here for a complete list and additional information on the JCVS Award