Blessings in a Backpack

Blessings in a Backpack is a program designed to help meet the nutritional needs of children and families. It was developed as a result of teacher observations that children receiving free or reduced meals at school would arrive on Mondays hungry, tired and sluggish. On Fridays, students are sent home with a backpack full of several pounds of food such as tuna, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, fruit juices, pastas, oatmeal, fruit bars, and crackers. The backpack is returned empty on Monday and refilled in time to take home for the following weekend. The program has partnered with a national food chain to obtain food at a significantly reduced cost. The students that are eligible for this program are participants in a government subsidized free or reduced fee hot lunch program at school. The Blessings in a Backpack program helps families meet nutritional needs on weekends when the students don’t have access to the meals they receive at school. With the help of national spokesperson Hilary Duff (TV’s Lizzie McGuire), groups of concerned community leaders, philanthropic and business partners, and caring citizens, the program has become a driving force against childhood hunger in the United States.

The mission of the Blessings in a Backpack program is to help meet the nutritional needs of children by providing weekend meals for children and generating public awareness on the issue of child hunger.

To date, 17 school districts in 11 states have enrolled in the program.
The program continues to grow through its partnerships with several national organizations and a celebrity spokesperson.