Backpack ProgramBy Gretchen Elliott

Is There Food at Home? More than 18 million children qualify for

free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program

What happens to these children when they go home over the weekend?

Problems in the Classroom Teachers have found they are having to

compete with hunger for students attention.

How can a child focus on solving a math problem or memorizing a new word when she or he is trying to ignore the hunger?

What is the Backpack Program? For more then 15 years the backpack

program has been giving children nutritious and easy to prepare meals to have over the weekend.

Bags of food are put together through 150 food banks in America

The food bags are given around 230,000 children each year.

A total of $100,000 is needed each year to support the proram.

Local Backpack Program Second Harvest food bank of East

Tennessee Program Manager is Sam Compton Just $5 a week will provide healthy food

to a child.

What does the Child Receive? The items are broken down into 4

categories: grain, dairy, fruit, and protein groups.

Two items from each group goes home with each child.

If student is receiving food to take home to younger siblings they will get 8 items for each sibling- 2 in each group.

Items Currently Being OfferedGrain GroupAnimal CrackersInstant OatmealFruit and Oatmeal BarsSpecial K BarsCereal BoxesGranola Bars

Dairy GroupPudding CupsEasy Mac n CheeseInstant BreakfastCheese on Wheat CrackersMilk Boxes

Fruit GroupApplesauceFruit CupsOrange JuiceApple JuiceFruit Bars

Protein GroupPeanutsTrail Mix BarsPeanut Butter CrackersBeef StewSunflower SeedsBeans and Franks

What About Summer Vacation? Summer food program is also through

local food banks. Just over 2 million children received

meals during the summer months. May be meal based programs, or may

be innovative distribution models that are specifically designed to fill the gap in services for children during the summer months.

Summer Food Program’s Objective Provide nutritious, healthy meals, food

packages, vouchers and/or snacks to children at-risk of hunger in the summer months when school is not in session

Quotes

"Now we have supper."

"I like the backpacks. My mom likes them too because we don't have a lot of food. Please do it again next year."

Works Cited http://

feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/programs-and-services/child-hunger/backpack-program.aspx

http://www.food-finders.org/Backpack-Program.html