Backpack Program Launches to Feed Students on Weekends
Thursday, February 7, 2013 - 9:57pm
By:
Kim Soyoung
FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT
DULUTH - Low-income students in Duluth get free-lunches during the week, but what about the weekends?
Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank has partnered with Duluth Public Schools to launch the Backpack Program.
It’s a national program that sends students home with a backpack full of food to help feed them on weekends.
The food is donated or bought at reduced priced and is brought to Second Harvest and packed by volunteers.
“Brought to schools or other locations, and from there, school staff are identifying kids that might not need the product and then on Fridays is when the distribution occurs, just in time for the weekend. It’s actually a small plastic bag that goes into a child’s backpack or bookbag,” Shaye Moris, executive director of Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank, said.
Second Harvest currently serves 110 kids per week and hopes to serve 500 students by the end of the year.