SERVICES & PROGRAMS
Regional Programs
The Backpack Program provides bags filled with food that is child-friendly, shelf stable, and easily consumed. Bags are discreetly placed into the children’s backpacks on Friday afternoons.
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Extra Helpings is a cooperative food-buying program that provides people with purchased food bags through partner agencies such as community centers throughout the Food Bank’s 23-county service area. Extra Helpings provides high quality food at low cost so people can stretch their food-buying dollars
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Kids Cafe programs provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of (existing) community organizations where children congregate such as Boys and Girls Clubs, churches, and public schools.
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Millions of children depend on free or reduced-price school lunches and breakfasts for 9 months out of the year. For many of these children, summer vacation does not mean ‘fun in the sun’ but rather increased risk of hunger and developmental decline. Children who miss meals are more likely to be sick, absent or tardy from school, disruptive in class, and inattentive. They also score lower on achievement tests. Good nutrition is essential for learning in school.
