Harvest to start Backpack Food for Kids in September

TEXARKANA - Harvest Regional Food Bank is prepping to kick off its Backpack Food for Kids program in mid-September. It's anticipated that more than 900 students across 40 campuses will be served by the program.

The backpack program provides food to children in danger of going hungry over the weekends when school breakfast and lunch aren't an option. The sacks of food are discreetly put in the child's backpack on Friday afternoons.

Harvest has added a new facet to the program this year.

"We're very excited to add another component into this childhood hunger program. We've now partnered with a handful of high school and college campuses to provide a campus pantry style program to fill the needs of older students and young adults," said Camille Wrinkle, Harvest executive director. "What's great about the campus pantry program is it serves a whole different demographic. These students are older and they may be cooking and providing meals for the household including younger siblings."

The pantries have different items than the nutritious snacks and easy-to-fix meals that go home in backpacks. Students will be able to choose items like boxes of cereal, Hamburger Helper and canned vegetables or fruits. They will have access to recipes and tips to give them ideas of what they can make. The pantries will also provide items like laundry detergent and personal hygiene items.

"This really is a God-send. It's not only providing for these older students but allows them to provide meals for other children in the house," Wrinkle said. "It also enables them to do laundry, wash dishes and have hygiene products so they can take a shower and have clean clothes. To me, that instills a sense of pride when a child is able to go to school fed and clean. I can't imagine that doesn't add to their chance of success."

As the programs addressing childhood hunger continue to expand, support from the community is more needed than ever.

"Funding from the community is vital. We apply for grants and we're grateful for the funding we get from corporate and community foundations but it doesn't always cover the entire cost of the program. We still rely on individual contributions to help fund the program," she said.

It cost about $125 per year for a child in the Backpack Food for Kids program.

"That's a small amount to supply children with nutritious food and items for the house but multiply it by nearly a thousand students and it's a big portion of our budget," Wrinkle said.

She would like to see campus pantry program expand next year but said it all depends on the community getting behind these efforts.

"We can only expand as far as we have the funding to support but I'm very excited about the school pantry program and I'm very hopeful this catches on in other communities and we're able to increase campus by campus, a few campuses at a time just like we have with the backpack program," she said.

Anyone interested in volunteering at Harvest or who wants to make a financial donation can call 870-794-1398 or stop by the food bank at 3120 E. 19th St., Texarkana, Ark.

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