There was no scientific evidence to support the notion, but the bone-chilling wind seemed to die down with every vehicle that pulled into the Salk Middle School parking lot Wednesday morning.

They were driven by neighbors, friends and colleagues – who were themselves driven by the desire to help hungry students.

And they succeeded beyond the expectations of Salk teacher Kendall Erickson, who stood in the chill and received dozens of bags worth of food, hygiene products and even some cash.

The donations will support several dozen of the neediest students at the north Spokane school, ensuring nutrition during the weekends and augmenting the daily efforts of Spokane Public Schools.

The two-hour window for deliveries had barely opened when Anne Kirchner, pulled up with a load of apple sauce.

“When home calls, people respond, and this is home,” said Kirchner, a retired teacher who worked at Salk for almost three decades.

“We will get through this,” Kirchner said. “It’s awful … but it’s a God moment, and we are going to do what we can do.”

The visitors did a lot to meet the need.

Through the Bite2Go program and its partnership with Second Harvest and other community partners, weekend meals have been distributed throughout the city.

However, the program has suspended purchasing during the pandemic, leaving schools to rely on community support.

Erickson and her colleagues stepped into the void, using social media and word of mouth to raise awareness.

Salk teacher Colleen Maciver spread the word in her Eagle Ridge neighborhood through Nextdoor.com.

After asking for donations to be left on her doorstep, Maciver “was happy when we got a couple of bags,” she said.

“They they kept coming,” said Maciver, who by then had a small audience eating out of the palm of her hand.

Then she opened the hatchback, which revealed a trunk full of food and hygiene products.

“It was just so kind of (my neighbors) to show up like this for our kids,” Maciver said. “I appreciated it and I let them know that I was awestruck by their generosity.”

A few moments later, neighbor Bob Yeoman pulled up and pulled out two large bags stuffed with food.

A member of Lions International, Yeoman noted that 800 million people worldwide go to be hungry every night.

“Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion,” Yeoman said.