For 16 years, hundreds of students in Lawrence, Kansas have had something to look forward to at the end of their school week. Before they head home for the weekend, they receive a bag of food through Harvesters’ BackSnack program, enough tasty, shelf-stable food to help supplement their nutrition over the weekend when school is not in session. 

And from the beginning, that quiet, consistent effort has been carried out by two equally unassuming volunteers: Todd Sutton and Greg Hazen. 

The pair never sought recognition for the work. In fact, Greg describes their role with characteristic humility.  “We’re just the middlemen,” he stresses. 

But anyone who has watched the program grow over the past decade and a half knows that description barely scratches the surface. Through Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry, Todd, Greg and a team of dedicated volunteers have faithfully picked up, organized and delivered BackSnacks to Lawrence elementary schools week after week, creating a legacy measured not just in meals delivered, but in lives touched. 

“The program for us started through Greg,” Todd recalls. Greg’s sister was serving as a principal at one of the schools when Harvesters was introducing the BackSnack program to Lawrence. “She talked to Greg. Greg talked to me and we said, ‘You know, we think we ought to be able to help support this program. Let’s look into it.'” 

Today, volunteers through Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry help serve 10 of Lawrence’s 11 elementary schools that participate in the program. During their partnership with Harvesters, they have been responsible for distributing a whopping 645,729 pounds of food, equaling 538,107 meals. 

Greg remembers hearing stories from school staff and Harvesters’ representatives that made the decision to volunteer an easy one. 

“Harvesters came in and provided the stories about the effectiveness of the program,” he says. “There was a study showing the positive impact on learning as well as health. Great improvements that the kids had who were involved in the programs.” 

Those results matched what teachers were seeing in their classrooms. As additional schools learned about the program, they wanted to participate. 

“In some cases, it was people moving between schools,” Todd says. “They’d go to a new school. It’s like, ‘We ought to do what they did at my other school.'” 

For Greg and Todd, however, some of the most meaningful evidence came from handwritten notes written from students. 

“The teachers involved would get the students involved to drop us thank you notes back,” Todd says. “Those were always touching and reinforcing that the program was making a significant difference.” 

Years later, he still remembers what children wrote. 

“When we get one from a kid that says, ‘This has been great. I’ve been sharing it with my sibling, with my sister or brother,'” he says, “or, ‘I like the macaroni and cheese the best’. You know you’re having a positive impact.” 

While children were the focus, the work created its own community among volunteers. 

About 10 volunteers now help make the weekly deliveries, with members coming not only from Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry but from other churches throughout Lawrence. 

“Our volunteers delivering to the school got real positive feedback from being in the school environment,” Todd says. “It gave a lot of the volunteers a little vigor in their step to be able to know they were touching lives that way.” 

Now, after 16 years, Greg and Todd are stepping back from the weekly responsibilities they have faithfully carried. 

For Todd, part of the decision is simply recognizing that time changes everyone. 

“I’m 16 years older than I was when I started into this program,” he says with a smile. “Lugging the boxes around back and forth. It’s just not quite as easy as it used to be.” 

But, he also sees this as an opportunity for others to continue the work. 

“I need to expand within the Trinity community to have some other people involved and let them do it their way if they want to make some changes to it.” 

Greg echoes that sentiment. 

“We’re not totally stepping away,” he says. “Just in the background.”