Fact: In the USA, one in five children are not getting enough to eat.
Fact: 20-35% of our area children receive free/reduced-fee lunch at school, which means their families are at or below the federal poverty line and frequently experience “food-insecurity”.
News: A number of not-for-profit organizations already support the Back Pack Project, either through donations of dollars or food or by volunteering to fill grocery bags every week for kids to take home for the weekend or by transporting food.
How do we make it happen?
The 285 BackPack Project
Every week during the school year, volunteers from the community meet the day before the weekend begins (usually Thursday) to fill plastic grocery bags with a variety of easy to fix, nutritious foods for kids to take home in their back packs.
The school arranges delivery of the bags of food to the children whose families have requested the food. Any child is eligible. All families are invited by letter from the principal to participate, if they so choose.
The Rotary Club of Conifer orders the food from the Food Bank of the Rockies (FBR) in Denver via the St. Laurence Episcopal Church food pantry in Conifer, CO. A volunteer drives to pick up the food from FBR and delivers it to a central location for distribution to the schools. Foods not available from FBR are purchased from local stores.
The back pack foods may include:
- Individual boxed cereal or instant oatmeal or instant breakfast
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Tuna or chicken, canned
- Fruit, canned (fresh, when available)
- Peanut butter
- Snack crackers
- Granola bars
- Individual puddings
- Juice, boxes
- Cookies
- Spaghetti or ravioli, canned
- Soup, canned or dry
- Ramen noodles
- Stew, canned
- Beans, canned