FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
Why is supplemental food needed in our community?
Many students in our area receive free breakfast and lunch at school through the child nutrition program in the public schools, but may not have access to adequate safe and nutritious food on the weekends or when they are away from school for summer and for Christmas break. According to the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina, in our 5-county area, there are 48,691 individuals at risk of hunger. 17,643 (33%) of them are children. Backpack Blessings seeks to stand in the gap between children and hunger when they are away from the Child Nutrition programs in the schools.
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Where does the funding for Backpack Blessings come from?
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​Backpack Blessings partners with area churches, organizations, businesses and individuals to raise money for our supplemental food program. We seek to match all dollars donated by our partners with grant money. This grant money, along with volume discounts on food items, allows supplemental food to be purchased and packed in a much more cost-effective way.
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How many children are being served by Backpack Blessings?
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Backpack Blessings currently serves over 950 children in our 3 county area and the numbers continue to rise! Each of the 950 children receives a weekend food bag (10 individually wrapped, kid friendly snacks) each Friday of the school year. Food boxes with shelf stable pantry items (as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, breads and dairy) are made available in the summers, as well as a ready to cook holiday meal provided for all of our Backpack Blessings families in December.
How is all the food packed and distributed to families?​
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​It is a great community effort! 9-10 times a year, volunteers from area churches and organizations, and individuals gather at a central location to pack weekend food bags for kids, and food boxes in the summers and at Christmas. All food is pre-ordered and on site; volunteers gather to pack food bags and boxes and get them ready for distribution. It truly takes a village to feed food insecure families and we have a great village!!
