Blessings in a Backpack is a results oriented
program. This unique program is designed to feed children grades K-5 in Title 1 public schools who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program and may not have any or enough food on the weekends. Better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, improved health and increased attendance have all been attributed to the
success of this program.
$80 feeds a child in the program for an entire school year. Following a donation, a school is chosen and a local grocer partners with the program to provide food for meals in the backpacks. Every Friday, students receive their backpacks with food that requires little to no preparation. They return with their backpacks on Monday ready to learn.
For more information, visit the national Blessings in a Backpack website.
It is surprising for most Americans to learn that over 60% of children in grades K-5, in the U.S. public school system, are on a Free or Reduced Meal program (View state statistics). Unmet nutritional needs make it very difficult for children to learn, pay attention in class and behave properly to retain what they learn.
• In 2006 the poverty rate for minors in the United States was the highest in the industrialized world, with 21.9% of all minors living below the poverty threshold.
• The USDA reported in 2007 that 36.2 million people lived in households considered to be food insecure, of which 12.4 million are children. The ten states with the highest food insecurity were Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Maine, South Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri (View food insecurity statistics in America).
• Food insecurity is the inablitiy to access food in a consistent manner, may require emergency food assistance, but try to have enough to feed the children. Adults in food insecure households may skip meals.
• The maximum monthly food stamp benefit in 2004 for a family of four was $471 or $1.31 per person per meal. The average per-person monthly benefit is $84 or 93 cents per meal. Some households only receive the minimum benefit of $10. A household may not participate in the Food Stamp Program if it has more than $2,000 in savings or other assets ($3,000 for households with elderly or disabled members).
• Current minimum wage is 30 percent lower in purchasing power than it was, on average, in the 1970s
Other site links for child hunger information:
http://www.frac.org/html/news/news_index.html
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodSecurity/
