Chandler Service Club feeds children in need with weekend lunch bag program

CHANDLER, Ariz. (KSAZ) - We all know necessity is the mother of invention, well 85 years ago, a group of women in Chandler created a service club in an effort to feed the hungry during the depression, and they haven't stopped since.

"We're the ladies of Chandler Service Club, we're a non-profit that started in 1933, and it began by a group of women that just started serving hungry children over the great depression," said one member.

Members of the Chandler Service Club are still feeding hungry children. Every Thursday hundreds of volunteers gather to pack lunches.

"We're at 660 bags of food in the Chandler Unified School District," said one member.

They're called weekend bags. Five pounds of nutritious snacks and meals: mac and cheese, oatmeal, canned fruits and vegetables.

"They're actually distributed to all the schools Thursday and given out to the children very discretely on Friday," said one member.

The weekend bags are delivered to 25 schools in the Chandler Unified School District so the children have meals to eat over the weekend. That includes junior high, charter, elementary and high schools.

Organizers say the needs keeps growing.

"The ladies of the Chandler Service Club through our fundraising are able to make this happen and then also other volunteers that just come and want to help pack up and drive to the schools and make sure that the schools get all of the food that they need," said one member.

To donate to the weekend lunch bag program, visit the Chandler Service Club website.