Firefighters fill food bags to keep kids' hunger at bay on weekends

Members of the Rochester Fire Department pose with bags gathered for the End 68 Hours of Hunger program, from left, Dave Bogan, Jason Laferte, Matthew Parker, Mike George, Chief Mark Klose, Former Mayor John Larochelle (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Rochester firefighters look to protect city residents against destructive fires on a daily basis, but this month they're also looking to protect those most vulnerable to the ravages of hunger by participating in the city's End 68 Hours of Hunger Program.

The nonprofit community organization helps provide food to school children that may otherwise go without during their weekend break.

Rochester's program, assisted by City Manager Dan Fitzpatrick and sponsored by the Rochester Rotary Club, provides children with meal bags that include two breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners.

This weekend program, established in New Hampshire in 2011, puts nourishing food in the hands of schoolchildren to carry them through the weekend.

This is the second time that the Rochester Fire Department has helped the program by stuffing bags with assorted food, such as cereal, crackers, vegetables, peanut butter and oatmeal.

"We're grateful that we can help out this cause that supports so many children in our community," Rochester Fire Chief Mark Klose said. "We thank City Manager Fitzpatrick and the Rotary Club for leading this initiative, and we look forward to volunteering in the future."

When the program's volunteer numbers were low, City Manager Fitzpatrick asked Chief Klose if on-duty firefighters would be willing to help. On each occasion, the on-duty shift, which has happened to be the D Shift both times, has volunteered. Most recently, Lt. Mike George and firefighters Jason Laferte and Matt Parker helped stuff 125 bags in about 30 minutes. The department's prior participation in the program was led by George, firefighter Micah Ruel and firefighter Josh Biron.

End 68 Hours of Hunger is entirely volunteer based and contributes 100 percent of its funds to feeding at-risk children. For more information on the program and how to get involved, visit their website at http://www.end68hoursofhunger.org/.