North Delta Starfish | Backpack Starfish Pack

North Delta Proudly Feeds

Eliminating hunger and helping North Delta elementary school children to learn, volunteers pack weekend food for children and their families. The Starfish Pack Program was started in the lower mainland by the Archway Food Bank, expanding to over 20 communities throughout the province and in Washington State.

The North Delta Rotary Club teams with community partners including Deltassist, Save On Foods, the Delta School Board and other community volunteers to bring the program to North Delta elementary schools.

As of March 2022, the North Delta Rotary Starfish Pack Program has partnered with 14 local elementary schools, weekly distributing over 130 backpacks feeding approximately 270 children and their families. These meals allow students to return to school on Monday morning, ready to learn.

The program’s name comes from the Parable Of The Starfish:

On the morning after a violent storm, the residents of a seaside village awoke to find their beach covered with hundreds of dying starfish which had washed ashore.

As the community gathered at the end of the beach, they spoke in hushed tones about the great sadness of the disaster.

Suddenly, a young girl ran towards the beach and began to pick the starfish one at a time, then throwing them back into the water.

A village elder walked towards the young girl and kindly said, “Child, there are hundreds of starfish on this beach and this must be happening on other beaches up and down the coast. You must understand that you alone can’t possibly make a difference.”

The little girl looked up at the old man, smiled and bent down to pick another starfish. As she threw it back into the sea, she replied, “I made a huge difference to that one!”

Pictured below: Over the past two years, the North Delta Rotary Club has hosted 4 “Shred-A-Thons” to raise money for ND Rotary Charities including Starfish. This is also a great way to gain public awareness of the need to help our community’s children and families.

Would you like to PARTNER with us?

We rely on donations and sponsorships to fill these backpacks and the more donations and sponsorships we have, the more children we can feed.

To find out how you might bring the hope of a Starfish Pack to those in need, please contact The Rotary Club of North Delta at ndrotaryclub@gmail.com .

The cost of filling one backpack for one child every weekend throughout the school year is close to $650.

In March 2022, we switched to a simpler environmentally friendly reusable bag, pictured to the right.

Donation Options:

Online: Please click our button to the left and select “Starfish Program” to donate online

Cheque: Please mail to PO Box 300, 7101C 120th Street, Delta BC, V4E 2A9

E-transfer: Please send to ndrotaryclub@gmail.com, including your name and physical address, plus your email address in the E-transfer memo field.

Tax receipts will be issued.

We are so thankful for our

Community Partners

Deltassist

Delta School District

Save On Foods

“At Deltassist, we strongly believe that food security is an important issue in our community. We are heavily involved with the Delta Food Coalition and have launched a bread gleaning program. The Starfish Backpack Program aligns with our aim to ensure that the entire community has equal access to healthy and nutritious food. We are thrilled to partner with the North Delta Rotary to ensure that children in need in our community are well fed, healthy and happy.” Julie A Chadwick, M.Sc., R.C.C, Executive Director