Pack 'Til They're Back-Feeding America

Have you ever went to bed hungry because you didn't have food in your home, since you couldn't afford it? I haven't. As a child I grew up in a middle class family and I never had to think about my meals or where they would come from. I knew at lunch time my mom would look in our fridge and cabinets and would pull out food for us to eat. My only complaint as a child was her telling us to eat more fruits and vegetables. I never had the worry of going to bed without a meal. I never went to school on an empty stomach. At school lunch I would groan when I would see the whole wheat bread on my sandwich and wish my mom would give us white bread, but I never opened my Smurf lunch box to see it sitting empty. I was blessed. I know this now. As a child I was completely unaware that there might be kids at my school going home to a fridge without food on the weekends. I would have never thought that other kids came to school in the morning hungry, not because they chose not to eat their mom's cooking, but because they had no food to cook. No cereal to pour, no milk to slurp out of the bowl. No poptart to eat the icing off first then chow down the rest. No sandwich waiting for them in a cutesie lunch box. That is the reality many kids face. That is the reality Feeding America is working to change.

There are now many programs in place to help with school lunches and even breakfast, but what happens when those children go home for the weekend? That's where the BackPack Program comes into play. Feeding America has a great new program for those families in need to help fill in the gaps on weekends and school breaks. The concept is simple, "Pack 'Til They're Back" supplies food to keep those bellies full until they come back to school again. The program works by sending them home with kid-friendly nutritious foods that are easy to open and prepare on weekends and school vacations.

Watch this video to learn more about the BackPack Program and what it means to the families who need it. Meet Wanda and her family.


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Volunteers at Greater Berks Food Bank of Reading, PA prepare food for children at risk of hunger to take home for the weekend. Feeding America’s BackPack Program provides nutritious food to children for weekends and school vacations.

Thanks for reading about Feeding America and the BackPack Program. Let's fight hunger together!