Profile
The Southwest Florida Chapter
The Blessings in a Backpack program steps-up by feeding children on the weekend. Every Friday afternoon, children receive backpacks filled with kid-friendly, ready-to-eat items. Students return every Monday morning with an empty backpack, a full stomach, and an eager mind. In the schools we work with in Lee and Collier County, test scores, reading skills, positive behavior, general health, and attendance have improved dramatically as a result of children getting the nourishment they need.
Our Mission:
Blessings in a Backpack mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for school-aged children across America who might otherwise go hungry.
Our Vision:
Every school-aged child in America has the nourishment needed to learn and grow. As a leader in the movement to end childhood hunger, Blessings in a Backpack strives to ensure children do not go hungry on the weekends by empowering individuals and communities to take action.
Why Do We Do It:
Did you know that 13.4 MILLION CHILDREN* are experiencing food insecurity? That’s one in five American children who may be struggling with access to food.
The consequences of hunger are much more than a growling stomach. Poor nutrition can result in a weaker immune system, increased hospitalization, lower IQ, shorter attention spans, and lower academic achievement. Children are fed during the school week by federal government programs. We want to make sure they’re getting nutritional meals over the weekend, too.
Blessings in a Backpack is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. During the 2022–2023 school year, we distributed more than 3.3 million bags of ready-to-eat food to children at 1,270 schools in 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Since 2009, Blessings in a Backpack has provided 30 million hunger-free weekends for more than 1 million children nationwide.Â
*USDA, Economic Research Service, 2022
Our Structure:
We are a national organization made up of seven regional chapters and more than 1,200 community-driven programs. We share the goal of preventing childhood hunger on the weekends for the kids who need us most. Click here to find a chapter or program near you.
How Much Does it Cost?
On average, $150 will feed one child on the weekends for one 38-week school year through the Blessings in a Backpack program—the results: nourished kids ready to learn. Food is an essential building block, and in this case, it is truly a blessing, especially to a hungry child!
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