Seniors helping seniors

Two St. Regis High School students have decided to do something positive with the leftovers from their school's cafeteria this year.

Seniors Tailor Davis and Ryanne Burklund started a program called Supper for Seniors in December.

Every day after lunch, Burklund and Davis package the uneaten foods from St. Regis' cafeteria into individual plastic bags to store in the cafeteria's freezer. On Monday nights they gather up the food from the past week into separate paper grocery bags and deliver it to six homes in St. Regis. "I think it's a great idea," said Dave Jensen, a shop teacher who has had Davis and Burklund in class and in the basketball program. He also knows them through Close-Up, a government class where students visit Washington, D.C. for a week to learn about politics and government.

Davis and Burklund said that all of the food is frozen so it can be reheated. They do not pack fruits or vegetables that could go bad over the week.

"We take everything, unless it says on the package, do not reheat," said Davis.

Davis and Burklund said that if they were not delivering the food to seniors in the area, it would be thrown away. "It's a good way to put the food to use," Jensen said. "Instead of just throwing it away, they're using it to help people."

The two girls are not alone in their efforts. Davis and Burklund said that the school lunch staff has been a big help by providing them with space and a few extra hands to get the job done.

"The kitchen staff has been a big help," said Davis. "They package the breakfast for us every day." The only thing the kitchen staff is not allowed to do is make more food for them, said the high school seniors.

Davis and Burklund said that the only costs for the program are gas, which they pay for, and the paper and plastic bags for storing food. Since they only deliver food to seniors in the St. Regis area, they said gas has not been a huge issue.

They said that they get the money for their bags from fundraising they did while participating in a program called "Heroes." While working with Heroes, the girls mentored younger children.

"Plastic bags and plates don't cost very much, but we get a little money from that," Burklund said.

Davis and Burklund came up with their idea while researching scholarship opportunities.

"They were looking for scholarships and saw all these seniors doing all these amazing things," said Julie Burklund, a third grade teacher at St. Regis and Ryanne's mom.

The two girls said that after coming across examples, such as a high school senior who rebuilt bicycles and distributed them throughout the community, and another young man who raised money to build a house, they decided that they should use their senior year to give back to the St. Regis community.

"They're not doing this so they can get their names in the paper," Burklund said. "They saw a need and they're doing something about it."

Since coming up with the idea, the two 17-year-old girls have been spending around two hours every Monday night delivering food and visiting with the seniors.

"People have told us that the food is a big help to them," Burklund said. "We get to talk to them, and they're very interesting people."

The six St. Regis residents the girls serve were referred to them by a friend whom they asked to be kept nameless. Davis and Burklund said they are very concerned with keeping their clients' identity a secret.

"These people are capable of taking care of themselves, we're just helping out," Tailor said.

The girls said that they have received interest from friends of other area seniors that could use the extra food. "We're thinking about expanding it, but we're not quite sure when or how right now," Davis said. "One of the things we'll need to expand is more help."

Davis and Burklund said that they have the food to serve more people, and they just need to interview the seniors to decide whether or not they really need or want the service.

"We have quite a bit of food, so we could take on a few more and still bring the same amount," Burklund said.

Davis and Burklund said that if the interest in their program continues to grow, they would have to make a cutoff to keep from having to bring smaller amounts of food to more people. "I wouldn't want to bring just a couple meals to a bunch of different people," Davis said.

The girls added that they wanted the project to stay small so that if they had a week where there were not enough leftovers, it would just affect a few people rather than a large community.

Because both girls are seniors, they said they are going to start interviewing juniors and possibly sophomores about taking their places next year.

"We want people that are responsible and can be dedicated to this," said Burklund, who will be attending Montana State University in Bozeman next fall. Davis is considering attending nursing school at the University of Montana in Missoula.

"They're just really good kids. I enjoy working with both of them," Jensen said.