Our weekend BackPacks bring a healthy start to every school week!

10/15/2019

October marks the annual return of Feed More’s BackPack program, an initiative created to help fight weekend hunger. Our BackPacks help ensure our region’s kids receive the necessary nutrition during the weekend, when they aren’t in school and able to receive free or reduced lunches.

Each week during the school year, our volunteers pack about 2,000 BackPacks with six nutritious, shelf stable and kid-friendly items like cereal, canned fruits and vegetables and milk or juice. Our team of volunteer drivers then distribute the BackPacks to more than 50 elementary and middle schools in Richmond and the Tri-Cities every week, providing access to healthy meals to kids so they can return on Monday well fed and ready to learn.

“Our BackPack volunteers are such an integral part of getting these important meals out to the kids who need them,” shared Channa Mik Carlson, volunteer coordinator at Feed More. “They spend up to three hours per shift assembling the each backpack, while our volunteer drivers make it their priority to deliver the bags to local schools. They are always so cheerful and I think it’s just amazing to see their dedication to our mission.”

We know that when a child is suffering from hunger it can affect their entire life. They lose energy and their focus, and can often become more withdrawn, prohibiting them from being as engaged as they could in the classroom, with their friends and at home. With 1 in 7 kids facing hunger in central Virginia, programs like weekend backpacks remain a critical part of our mission.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can help Feed More through volunteering, please visit our volunteer page or fill out our volunteer application!