Ruidoso, NM — December 13, 2025
On a Saturday morning outside Albertsons grocery store in Ruidoso, the Ruidoso community showed up in force—delivering a record-breaking $6,000 in monetary and food donations to ensure Lincoln County children wouldn't go hungry during winter break.
The Rotary Club of Ruidoso partnered with Food 4 Kids for their annual "Pack the Bus" fundraiser, collecting food items that would be packed into backpacks and delivered to families before schools closed for the holidays.
Why Winter Break Creates Crisis
When school is in session, many children rely on free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs. When school closes for winter break, those meals disappear—creating food insecurity for families already struggling to make ends meet.
Food 4 Kids addresses this gap by providing backpacks filled with nutritious, kid-friendly food that children can prepare themselves when parents are working or when family budgets are stretched impossibly thin during the holiday season.
A Partnership That Works
The Rotary Club of Ruidoso has supported Food 4 Kids for several years, but this year's event exceeded all previous efforts. The community's generosity—combined with Rotarian volunteers managing collection, sorting, and packing—created the infrastructure for record impact.
"The event was a huge success!" said Elizabeth Potter, Food 4 Kids co-founder and board president. "It was the best event ever. Food 4 Kids is blessed to have such a supportive and strong partnership with the Rotary Club. Together we can make an impact on the lives of hungry kids in our county."
More Than Collection
The Rotary Club's involvement didn't stop with Saturday's collection drive. On Tuesday following the event, Rotarians returned to help pack backpacks—translating donations into ready-to-deliver food packages for Lincoln County families.
This hands-on engagement demonstrates sustainable partnership: not just writing checks or dropping off donations, but showing up repeatedly to do the operational work that makes programs function.
Katie Kmetz-Brunson, Rotary service chair, captured the club's response: "It was by far the best event yet! We are so thankful."
The Scale of Need
$6,000 in food and monetary donations represents hundreds of meals for children who might otherwise go hungry during what should be a joyful season. For families already making impossible choices—heat or food, rent or groceries—these backpacks remove one devastating calculation from their holiday stress.
The backpacks contain shelf-stable, child-friendly foods that don't require adult preparation—recognizing that many children using this program are home alone while parents work multiple jobs to keep families afloat.
Community Infrastructure
What makes "Pack the Bus" sustainable isn't just Rotary or Food 4 Kids—it's the ecosystem of support. Albertsons provides space and visibility. Community members donate generously. Rotarians provide volunteer labor and organizational capacity. Food 4 Kids manages logistics and family connections.
Each organization contributes what it's positioned to give, creating impact none could achieve alone.
Record-Breaking by Design
This wasn't luck. It was the result of years of partnership building, community trust, and consistent execution. When organizations show up year after year, communities respond with increasing generosity—because they see the work actually happening, not just promised.
Potter's comment about the "supportive and strong partnership" with Rotary reflects this reality: Food 4 Kids can count on Rotarian engagement, and Rotarians can count on Food 4 Kids' operational expertise. That reliability compounds over time.
Ensuring Dignity
Food 4 Kids' model recognizes something important: children experiencing food insecurity deserve dignity, not stigma. Backpacks go home discreetly. Foods are appealing to kids. Packaging doesn't broadcast poverty.
This attention to dignity—combined with practical nutrition—reflects the consciousness Potter and Rotarians bring to addressing hunger. It's not just "feeding people." It's recognizing whole humans deserving respect.
Avenue of Service: Community Service
Area of Focus: Basic education and literacy (enabling students to focus on learning, not hunger)
To learn more about Food 4 Kids or the Rotary Club of Ruidoso, contact Sean Chaffin at seanchaffin@sbcglobal.net