Kids receive their only food from school, mom faces child neglect charges
JACKSON, Tenn. — Three kids are left home alone for several days with nothing except for what they were getting fed from school, according to Jackson Police. “It’s hard to learn when you’re hungry. It’s hard to sleep when you’re hungery, so all of those things compound on one another. Police charged Coty Bane with 3 counts of child neglect. Local non-profits say children not having enough food is not as unordinary as it may sound. “We learned of kids in our school system that were going hom on the weekends with very little, and in some cases nothing at all to eat. This program began to fill the gap for those kids,” Lisa Tillman with RIFA explained. Tillman says a backpack program that sends food home for kids on the weekends provides meals for two days. Ten years ago, this program that started with 1 school and 25 children. Now, it sponsors 15 schools and 700 elementary school children. “That’s just a great advantage for the students who may not have 3 meals a day at home. This gives them an opportunity to take something home for themselves and for their family as well,” Ginger Carver with the Jackson-Madison County School System said. Carver said every student gets a free breakfast and lunch each day, and says it’s for reasons like these neglected kids that it’s so important to keep these programs active. “For those that are really in need and for those that may not ahve a great dinner when they get home at night, it helps out in all different areas and it helps their families as well,” Carver said. Coty Bane will appear in court on October 16th on 3 counts of child neglect. She is being held in lieu of $20,000 bond.
