The Backpack program begun by Feeding America sends bags of healthy and easy to prepare food home with students who may not be getting enough to eat over the weekend or before holiday breaks. Teachers, nurses, and other staff determine which children will receive these bags.
The Brockport Food Shelf began supporting the Backpack program in 2012. At that time and for a number of years after that, we were able to purchase bags from Foodlink and then each of the schools in the Brockport district would distribute them.
Eventually Foodlink no longer offered these bags and the Brockport Food Shelf began giving money to the Brockport School District to help purchase the food and put the bags together.
Currently the Assistant Superintendent reports that they are serving 125 students each week and an additional 75 students have been identified who would benefit from this program.
At this time, bags include cereal, boxed mac & cheese and ramen noodles, apple sauce cups, and granola bars.
When less students were being served, the bags included a wider variety of items such as ready-to-serve chicken noodle and tomato soups, microwavable mac and cheese entrees, oranges, apples, peanut butter cracker packs, cheese or Goldfish crackers.
If you would like to contribute to the funds that the Food Shelf passes on to the school, please consider a donation and indicate you wish it to be used for the Backpack program.
