National Food Solutions
How We Select the Best Food for Our Weekend Food Bags
At Blessings in a Backpack, we’re committed to providing nutritious food to children on weekends. Our registered dietitian ensures our menus are kid-friendly, healthy, and affordable. Here’s how we do it:
- Food Solution: We partner with national manufacturers to source high-quality food products that meet our nutritional standards. The foods we provide meet the strict USDA nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program.
- Kid-Approved Choices: We select food items made with whole grains, low in sugar, and rich in protein, ensuring each bag will fuel kids over the weekend!
- Current Trends: We regularly evaluate new products to stay up-to-date with the latest food trends and preferences.
Our Partnerships
At Blessings in a Backpack, we’re passionate about feeding bodies and minds, and we’re proud to partner with the best in the industry to make it happen! We’re proud to work with:
- Our national distributor, Sysco, helps us source the best products at the best prices.
- With top vendors like Sysco, Amazon, Meijer, Optimum, and Champion on board, we can offer a diverse range of food items that meet the highest standards.
- Kids love the name-brand products that go into our bags, like Kellogg’s, Campbell’s, Chef Boyardee, Slim Jim, and StarKist.
Because of the combined volume of the Blessings network, as one team for all kids, we can negotiate unbeatable deals. It’s a win-win for everyone, especially the kids who benefit from our programs.
What is Your Criteria for Selecting the Food You Serve?
We consider many factors: nutritional value, appropriateness for the children we feed, long-term availability, cost, ease of opening, portion size, shelf life, and variety. Our menu items are evaluated by a registered dietitian committed to providing healthy options that are low in sodium and sugar, made with whole grains, and are good protein sources.
Since many of the children we serve may not have access to conveniences like working appliances or a can opener, our menus must contain ready-to-eat foods. Our foods also do not require refrigeration and require little to no preparation.
Why Doesn’t Blessings Just Get Food Donated?
We purchase products from trusted manufacturers to ensure the availability of products that meet our nutrition and kid-friendly requirements, referenced above. Partners like Kellogg’s and Conagra believe in our mission and offer us “preferred” pricing, which means we get an even better deal than what’s available to others. As a result, this approach guarantees consistency and quality in our menu items, unlike donated food which may be approaching its expiration date or come from unpredictable sources.
Why Do Meals Feature Items Like Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Apple Jacks? Aren’t Those High in Sugar?
Blessings in a Backpack works with a national food distributor and manufacturers that focus on meeting USDA standards for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. Because of these partnerships, we have access to products that typically aren’t available in retail grocery stores.
Our prepacked menus contain only items that meet the strict USDA standards. For example, 51% whole-grain bread and cereal products and food items that are lower in sodium, fat, and sugar. In addition, K-12 education manufacturers, like Kellogg’s and Jack Links, produce products specifically to meet USDA nutrition standards not made available through retail.
Because of the increased nutritional value, Blessings in a Backpack can feature varieties of cereals that are tasty when eaten out of the bowl. Unfortunately, we can’t assume the children we serve have access to milk at home.