There are many children in our community who depend on resources such as free or reduced-price lunches during the school year. The Food Bank for the Heartland Kids BackPack Program is designed to provide food for hungry children at times when other resources are not available, such as during weekends and school vacations.

Staff members at local elementary schools identify chronically hungry students and then Food Bank for the Heartland supplies bags filled with child-friendly, nonperishable food for those children to take home on Friday afternoons. Each bag provides two breakfast meals and two lunch or dinner meals. They are delivered to participating schools by dedicated Food Bank for the Heartland volunteers and staff members.

Our BackPack Program is serving over 2,300 children in 44 schools across 16 school districts   All school districts in the Omaha metro are involved with the exception of Millard.  Each bag is $4.65.  The math would work like this…2,500 students X $4.65 = $11,625 per week X 36 weeks = $418,500. To adopt one student for an entire school year is $168..