Meet Autumn Chavez | Executive Director of Lovepacs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Autumn Chavez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Autumn, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The community is the most important factor in the success of Lovepacs. We rely on our communities to help us feed children in need. People do not always realize that 1in 5 children in North Texas come from food insecure homes. This means a lot of children go to school hungry and they rely on the breakfast, lunch, and snacks they receive at school. When a child is hungry they struggle to learn in school, pay attention, stay awake, and be active. These meals are so very important to the health and education of these children. When they are out of school on school breaks they are missing these meals. That’s where Lovepacs comes in to fill the gap. We work with the community to collect food to pack for these children so they have easily preparable food at home. Most kids are excited to be on Thanksgiving or Winter break, but those kiddos that receive breakfast and lunch at school are not always happy about being at home. Sometimes that means they will not eat because there is no food in the house. Lovepacs could not feed all of the children we do without the churches, businesses, sports teams, scout groups, and individuals in our community that step up with monetary and food donations.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am the Executive Director of Lovepacs. Lovepacs is a grassroots non-profit organization whose mission is engaging our communities to feed hungry children in Texas as an expression of Love. Lovepacs provides breakfast, lunch, and two snacks for children when school is not in session (for school holidays). I am the only paid employee and I have been the Executive Director for 3 years. I have the best job in the world because I am able to work with the community to bless those in need. I started volunteering at Lovepacs with my two boys several years ago once I learned of the need in Frisco ISD where my boys went to school. I picked Lovepacs as the non-profit we would serve at because they do not have an age requirement to volunteer. It was important to find a place where we could serve as a family. We always say at Lovepacs if you can count to 3 then you can volunteer with us. I fell in love with this organization and once I learned they were looking to add their first Executive Director I knew I had to apply. Stepping into that role wasn’t easy and it took a lot of time to get us where we are today. I have to give credit to my amazing leaders who were patient with me in the beginning and trusted my vision for Lovepacs. I would love for everyone to know that food insecurity does exist in your local schools and neighborhoods and we must come together to help serve those kids in need. No child deserves to be hungry. I would also love to invite the readers and their families or businesses to join us. We would love to have you come to the pantry and pack boxes, host a food drive, or if you prefer to work at home you can Adopt-A-Lovepac and shop and pack your box at home. Each box feeds a child (2 meals and a snack) for each day they are out of school. Each community has opportunities to get involved.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to give a shoutout to all of my Lovepacs community leaders. Without them, Lovepacs would not exist and we would not be able to feed 6500+ kiddos in the school districts where we serve. Each of our communities (Aubrey, Austin, Carrollton/Farmers Branch, Castle Hills, Celina, Cy-Fair, Denton, Flower Mound, Frisco, Gunter, Highland Village, Lewisville, Little Elm, Plano, Prosper, & The Colony.) has leaders that run the Lovepacs pantry. These leaders are volunteers and they give their time, energy, and money to help us feed kids in need. I could not do my job without these fabulous leaders.

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