BUTLER, Pennsylvania — The Butler Education Association used the Golden Tornadoes’ Friday night football game to collect food and money for the Kids’ Weekend Backpack Program. The Butler Area School District announced the drive on September 18, inviting supporters to bring nonperishable goods, make a physical monetary donation or use a QR code linked to the program’s Amazon wish list. The Butler Eagle confirmed in a report published September 26 that the drive took place during the September 25 game. Its account identified Marina Lagattuta, an English teacher at Butler High School, as the organizer.
A September 21 Butler Eagle preview described how association members planned to run the event. They expected to tailgate in the parking lots of the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School, cook hot dogs and hamburgers, then head to the game entrance around 5:30 p.m. to collect food or monetary donations. The newspaper listed the association’s most-needed items as Hormel Compleats, Hamburger Helper, microwave cups, Velveeta cups, ramen and individual meal items. Many listed choices were single-serving or easy to prepare, similar in format to the snacks and meals the foundation says go into Friday backpack bags. Those were the plans announced before the game, not a verified account of how every part of the evening unfolded.
In the post-event report, Lagattuta said organizers accepted nonperishable, single-serve items because the donations would be split among multiple bags. They also accepted cash. The report confirms the drive was held, but does not say how many people contributed or how much food or money was received. That leaves the event’s total impact unknown, even as its purpose and the collection’s format are documented.
The program the drive supports provides food for children to eat over weekends, helping bridge the days between school weeks. The Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation says participating children in Butler Area’s K–4 elementary schools discreetly receive a plastic bag in their backpack each Friday. The bags hold child-friendly, single-serving snacks and easy-to-prepare meals. The foundation describes the program as a partnership among school staff, parents and community members across the district’s elementary schools, and says both food and monetary donations are accepted.
Families of children in those schools can apply through the foundation’s website, which also explains how to donate. Its program page links separate enrollment and donation forms, giving families and supporters different next steps. That weekly program is distinct from the association’s football-game collection: the foundation describes how the ongoing distribution works, while the two Butler Eagle reports document the September event’s announcement and its completion. Neither article identifies which children, if any, received food from this particular collection. The available accounts do not connect donations from game night to a specific number of bags or students.
Lagattuta told the Butler Eagle, “For some students, school is the only time they get to eat.” She said her experience teaching in Butler had shown her how important the drive and program were to students. She recalled recipients coming to thank organizers and families telling her or the program director that the help was essential. Those are her descriptions of conversations, rather than a districtwide measure of food insecurity or a count of families served by the September drive. The newspaper also quoted her saying that families had told organizers, “you’re saving us.” For people who could not attend, she suggested supporting other events and listening when people discuss ways to help low-income families.
The association holds the drive twice a year, Lagattuta said. Its fall collection is usually at a football game, while the spring drive is typically part of the school’s Fine Arts & Beyond Showcase. She described the teachers’ planning gatherings before the event as a chance for colleagues to connect and build their team while supporting students. That pattern puts the September collection within a recurring effort by educators to link a familiar school event with a practical way to contribute to the backpack program.
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