COVID-19 Response Effort
Who will feed the kids this weekend?
This is the question we are continually asking at Blessings in a Backpack. Why? While most people can’t wait for the weekend, kids at risk of hunger can’t wait for it to be over. In fact, 11 million kids in America won’t have enough food to eat this weekend.
The current public health emergency has highlighted just how vulnerable these 11 million food-insecure children are. Typically, these kids rely on the food that schools provide during the week and Blessings in a Backpack food on the weekends. The school closures have changed this arrangement. Accordingly, we’ve had to adjust our traditional question. We’re now asking:
Who will feed the kids when schools are closed?
We are hoping that you will choose to answer, “I will” to ensure these kids are fed during this emergency and when they return to school.
Help Blessings in a Backpack continue to feed kids during this public health emergency. As little as $4 provides a Blessings bag of food to a child facing food insecurity now and when kids return to school.
Blessings in a Backpack’s response varies by community and focuses on aligning with the school’s food distribution solution and/or other local initiatives. We are sharing solutions and other support services Blessings volunteer teams across the country to help feed kids in their communities. Below are examples of community-focused solutions:
- In Syracuse, N.Y., the school district is continuing to feed all of the 569 students they serve through a “grab-and-go” program during the weekdays, while the Blessings program at the Delaware School is continuing to feed all of these kids by passing out prepacked bags of food to the kids on Fridays. Syracuse is not letting this crisis stop them from taking care of their kids.
- In a suburban Chicago school district, district staff and volunteers are packing bags, and doubling from the standard 750 bags to 1,500 bags, each having additional food items. Bags will be distributed at one school with a “drive-thru” process.
- In some program locations, such as Huntington, Ind., and Newark, N.Y., the school system is distributing food, including Blessings bags of food, to students using their school busing system.
- In Charlotte, N.C., program coordinator Debbie Porter responded to the potential school closings in her area by exceeding the normal activities of a Blessings in a Backpack program. To ensure that kids at her school have food to eat, she packed and delivered enough bags to the school to last the kids until mid-May! If the school closes, kids will now take home as much as they can so they have food on the weekends while they’re not in class.
- For school districts that have created food distribution centers at specific schools, Blessings bags of food will be available at the centers for children to take home with them. For example, in Louisville, Ky., any child under the age of 18 who eats meals at a designated feeding site will receive a bag of food.
Click here to read more stories about how communities, businesses, and people have come together to feed kids during this unprecedented time.
In addition to donating to our COVID-19 response effort, here are other ways to help:
Cartwheels 4 Meals:
We challenge you to do #Cartwheels4Meals in support of Blessings in a Backpack! This social media campaign will raise awareness and dollars for Blessings in a Backpack during the COVID-19 crisis through a fun, interactive challenge at home. Learn how you can get involved .
Facebook Fundraiser:
If you are looking for a way to be helpful from your phone or computer screen, creating a Facebook fundraiser is one of the best ways to do so. Not only do you raise critical funds to help feed kids, but you also spread the word of the need of food-insecure kids! Click here to learn more.
Employee Engagement:
Are you looking for a way to build connections and comradery during this time? Host a Social Giving Packing Event virtually and help Blessings in a Backpack feed kids while schools are closed! Click here for details.
At Blessings in a Backpack, we mobilize communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekend to kids who might otherwise go hungry. Because of this mission, we have witnessed the power of communities when they come together toward a common goal. It is because of this experience that we are confident our country will find the strength to weather this storm together.
Thank you to our lead COVID-19 Response Effort Partners:
