Peek inside the backpack feeding millions of kids this weekend

It’s Friday and all your classmates are itching to get the weekend started. Just waiting for that last bell to ring. They’re already making plans – some are going to the movies, some are planning get-togethers. Some are headed to that big game. Everyone is doing something different, but they’re all thrilled about getting away from school.

But you’re not.

You know when the weekend starts, you won’t be eating free breakfast and lunch at school. And since your parents can’t always afford food, you’re worried about what you’ll eat on Saturday and Sunday. Because it might be nothing.

For many of the 22 million kids who eat free or reduced-price meals at school, worrying about what they’ll eat on the weekend – when they don’t have access to those school meals – is a reality. But, the Feeding America BackPack Program works with food banks and schools to provide students with pre-packed bags of healthy, easy-to-prepare food at the end of the week to help make sure they have enough to eat on Saturday and Sunday.

Kids like Lucas in Missouri receive food from the BackPack Program. His mom works every day in his school’s cafeteria, but at the end of the month money is tight and food can be expensive. Interested in what’s inside those backpacks? Here's an example of the food that helps get them through the weekend. 

Through the BackPack Program, Feeding America food banks distribute bags of food to more than 450,000 children each week. With food to eat on the weekend, kids can focus on just being a kid, and not hunger.