Mountain High School Teacher Cheryl J. Richards Struggles To Help Provide Food For Hungry Students

Sept. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- September 12, 2011, Draper, UT—The Christensen Law Firm School Supplies Gift Program, a program sponsored by the Utah based Christensen Law Firm, PLLC, is pleased to announce that Ms. Cheryl J. Richards, a 11-12th grade teacher at Mountain High School in Kaysville, UT, is the recipient of the Golden Apple Award this week.
Ms. Richards is the Foods Teacher and is in charge of the school’s food pantry, which supplies free peanut butter sandwiches to students who either do not have lunch money or qualify for free or reduced price lunches.

Students receiving this help are often those who get kicked out of their homes, have to move out or have parents who have gone to jail leaving them to support themselves. The school often learns of these circumstances due to trusting relationships between students and teachers that eventually lead students to reveal they have nothing to eat at school or when they go home. The extraordinary circumstances of students have led the school to also provide weekend and holiday meals. Some school holidays are up to two weeks long and the food the kids receive at school is often their only source of nourishment, they need to eat even when school is not in session.

Ms. Richards often uses her own money to supplement what the partnership with Bountiful food pantry cannot supply, spending up to $200.00 or more every school year. The biggest problem Ms. Richards is having is that the meals rarely, if ever, include meat. When people donate canned goods to pantries they give soups, vegetables, mac and cheese etc. Canned meats are expensive and are not donated often and purchasing them would decrease the total meals the school could provide. It puts people in the position of making a tough decision: either giving as many kids as possible some sort of food or having to turn away hungry kids in order to buy a few canned meats. Ms. Richards plans to use the money from the Golden Apple Award to purchase jelly for the sandwiches and provide items that are missing from the Food Pantry.

Donations from citizens and businesses could make all the difference. Anything from canned goods to grocery store gift cards would help to provide more and better-balanced meals for the kids of Mountain High School. If you would like to help, contact Mountain High School at 801-402-0450. Ask to speak with Ms. Cheryl Richards to find out what donations they are in need of.

The Christensen Law Firm started the Christensen Law Firm School Supplies Gift Program to help public school teachers get extra classroom supplies without having to spend their own money. Each week the program gives the Golden Apple Award, which is a $100 gift card each week to a deserving Utah Public school teacher and his/her class. Anyone can nominate a teacher for this program, teachers, students, parents and administrators. To learn more about the program and get information on the winners visit: http://www.utahpersonalinjurylawfirm.com/christensen-law-....

About the Christensen Law Firm
Ken Christensen and Russ Hymas, owners of the Christensen Law Firm, are Utah natives. They have individually authored several books covering topics from car accidents to wrongful death law and bicycle accidents. They have been recognized by local media (including KSL, ABC, Fox and KUTV) as legal experts and are frequently asked to offer opinions on news stories and events. They are also sponsors of the Hit-and-Run Rewards Program, which rewards honorable citizens for providing information leading to the arrest and felony conviction of Hit-and-Run Drivers. For more information contact: schoolsuppliesgiftprogram@clfutah.com