We know that it can be very challenging for many families across the country to earn enough income to provide for all of their family’s basic needs, such as housing, food, clothing, etc. We know that this is true for many families right here in Portsmouth, NH as well and that the daily struggle can often become overwhelming.
Therefore, in an effort to provide a helping hand where we can, the Portsmouth schools are once again partnering this year with a local organization, End 68 Hours of Hunger, to provide food for the weekends to the children who need it in our schools. The program provides children with a bag full of nutritional simple meals each Friday afternoon. The child will bring this bag home with them each Friday and eat the food provided over the weekend.
Each weekend food bag contains 7 simple meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners) for an individual student. Most of the food items are pre-packaged and can be eaten with no preparation. Other items require heating in a microwave. None of the food requires refrigeration.
If you would like your child to participate in this program, please complete the google form to the right. The End 68 Hours of Hunger will not be provided with the names of the children, so their privacy will be protected. The program will start for the 2025-2026 school year on 09/19/2025, but a child can start any time after that as well. If you have questions and would like to speak to someone further about this program before making a decision, please contact the appropriate coordinator at your child’s school per the list below:
End 68 Hours Contact Email Addresses:
Dondero- Sarah Gagne, Nurse sgagne@sau52.org
New Franklin- Karen Utgard, Nurse kutgard@sau52.org
Little Harbor- Nicole Clayton, Nurse nclayton@sau52.org
Middle School- Lisa Jacobus, Social Worker ljacobus@sau52.org
High School- Maria Costa, Nurse mcosta@sau52.org
Robert J. Lister- Cullan Spiller cspiller@sau52.org