A former teacher, Kathi Haralson too clearly remembers seeing economically disadvantaged students showing up to class hungry. So when she heard about a program that sends food home with students on the weekends at a national Junior League conference last year, the then-president elect of the Junior League of Austin immediately came home and pitched it to her local chapter.

“We changed it and molded it to fit our needs,” Haralson said of the beginnings of the new program, Food in Tummies, or FIT.

As with all Junior League programs, the initial idea bred intense research. After a few months of talking to everyone she and her fellow members could think of, they identified Baty Elementary in the Del Valle school district as one of the most in-need school in the area. About 97 percent of their students are on the free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs.

“They go home, and they don’t eat all weekend,” Haralson said. “And when they do, it’s a dollar hamburger, it’s not nutritious. We’re filling in a missing piece.”

For each of the 31 weekends of the school year, volunteers will stuff nutritious goodies into nearly 800 backpacks, along with bilingual nutrition facts and recipe cards.

“We have popcorn and soy milk, not high-fructose fruit drinks,” she said. “Every single thing in there is easy to open, because we can imagine if they are not getting fed on the weekends, their parents aren’t there to help them open things.”

Haralson first heard about the program in October 2008. She pitched it to the local group in January and started up the food pantry at Baty on June 2, the day after helping to close the doors of the long-running Junior League resale shop.

“I can’t believe we pulled it off, but that’s what we do,” she said.

Of all of the striking statistics involved, perhaps the most remarkable number concerns the return rate of the backpacks. Students must bring them back each week to be filled, and after the inaugural weekend run, every single backpack came back, clean and ready for more food.

“The students all know who the FIT people are, and every time they see them, they start jumping up and down and get excited and say thank you,” Haralson said.

The longtime Westbanker first got involved with the Junior League in 1992 and will officially leave the fold to become a sustaining member after her current presidential term ends.

“It’s time to go on and do other things, maybe go back to work,” said Haralson who left teaching in 1999 to raise her two daughters, now 7 and 12. “I feel, because of my training with the Junior League, I can do anything.”

Haralson is one of many Westbankers to lend her time and expertise to the Junior League, as Westlake residents comprise 369 of the league’s nearly 2,000 members. These include last year’s president, Melissa Morrow, and the chairs of the league’s two biggest fundraisers, Stacy Dollar heading up the Christmas Affair and Karey Oddo running Coats for Kids.

“It’s really not about where you live, but what you’re doing,” Haralson said.

The Junior League recently celebrated its 75th birthday, and Haralson says that the organization has grown along with the women who make it.

“The women who started this 75 years ago; this was all they did,” she said. “Now, more than 80 percent of our members work outside of the home.”

This change, Haralson said, reflects the growth of the organization. The Junior League is always looking for new members to join, she said.

While Haralson said the best part of the experience comes from the personal benefits and growths, the skills learned and networking opportunities also prove invaluable.

“This is the safest place to experiment and dream, and I’ve been able to dream bigger here than I ever thought possible,” she said.

Beyond the impact on herself, Haralson said she loves the indirect lessons her daughters have learned from the league’s activities. They participate in several of the events and have already developed a keen sense of philanthropy by raising money for various events and donating their hair to Locks of Love.

“When I was asked [to serve as president], I was worried about my family and how much time I’d have to spend away from them,” she said. “But it’s taught them they are OK without me there all the time.”