I devour PEOPLE magazine every week and have for more years than I care to say. This week, the magazine had an interesting article about people trying to help out those who are hungry, mainly children. Stats show that about 16 million children are in what is called “food insecure’ homes. That is, there are times when these children are hungry and there is no food.
Tama Clapper made a vow that no child in Gillette, Wyoming (pop. 30,000) would go hungry. She was inspired when told by a school principal that about 50 of the 430 children in the school go hungry on weekends.
She joined up with Blessings in a Backpack and now together, they provide food for up to 400 children in 10 schools in that area.
What is Blessings in a Backpack? The program was started by Stan Curtis in 2004. Raised an orphan, Curtis put himself through college and became a successful stockbroker, but he still remembered what it was like to be down and out. Partnered with the likes of Walmart and Kroger, Curtis started filling backpacks with basics to help get children by.
Anyone who sees a need in a school – a parent, teacher, counselor – can start a Blessings in a Backpack program. Once adopted, Blessings in a Backpack works with local stores to food to fill the backpacks. Items like macaroni & cheese, juice, cereal, peanut butter, tuna, and granola bars help feed both the students and their parents.
Blessings in a Backpack has not only helped feed the children, it’s improved their lives. The organization has seen marked progress in school attendance, behavior health, and test scores.
If you know of a school to adopt, you can request a Get Started packet from the Blessings in a Backpack website. If you don’t know of a school to adopt, you can still get involved. A onetime donation of $80, 100% of which goes to the organization, will feed a child for the whole year. If you can’t give that much, you can always donate a backpack.
Blessings in a Backpack estimates that about 55,000 children in 35 different states go home with a filled backpack each Friday.