FREQUENTLY ASKED 
QUESTIONS

Why is the weekend food needed?

 

Many students in our area receive breakfast and lunch at school through the child nutrition program in the public schools, but may not have access to enough safe and nutritious food on the weekends. 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.

 

Where does the funding for Backpack Blessings come from?

 

Backpack Blessings partners with area churches, organizations, businesses and individuals to raise money for the weekend food. We seek to match all dollars donated by our partners with grant money. This grant money, along with volume discounts on food items, allows the weekend food to be purchased and packed in a much more cost-effective way.

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How is all the food packed and delivered to the schools?

 

It is great community effort! Four or five times a year, volunteers from area churches and organizations gather at a central location to pack the food bags for the kids. All food is pre-ordered and on site; volunteers gather to fill the food bags and pack them into storage bins. The bins are then taken to the schools or churches for distribution.

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How are the food bags distributed to the kids who need them?

 

Backpack Blessings partners with the guidance counselors and administrators in the schools to identify the kids for whom weekend food insecurity is an issue. Food bins are delivered to the schools and food bags are distributed  discretely and anonymously each week to the kids who have been identified as having food insecurity on the weekends.