Blessings in a Backpack Info Sheet

Our Vision

Every school-aged child in America needs proper nourishment 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.

Our Mission

Blessings in a Backpack mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry.

Child Food Insecurity in America

·  When school dismisses on Friday afternoon, more than 16-million children will leave their classrooms, uncertain whether they will have enough food to eat over the weekend.

·  One in five American children face food insecurity, that is more than the populations of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined.

·  Three out of five public school teachers say their students regularly come to school hungry.

·  In 2012, almost 31-million students qualified for the Federal Free and Reduced Price School Meals Program.

The Basics

·  Blessings in a Backpack is currently feeding 88,276 children nationwide.

·  968 schools in 46 states and Washington, D.C. have Blessings in a Backpack programs. Hawaii, Oregon, Oklahoma, and New Hampshire do not.

·  Blessings in a Backpack provided 3.23 million hunger-free weekends during the 2014–2015 school year.

·  Each weekly backpack stuffing includes six-to-seven food items including two entrees, two snacks, and two breakfast items.

·  One hunger-free weekend for one child costs, on average, $2.64.

·  It cost $100 to provide one school year of hunger-free weekends (38-weeks)
for one child.

Our Impact

This food keeps hunger pangs at bay until children return to school on Monday morning, but the impact goes beyond that. Student survey results show that children fed by Blessings in a Backpack experience the following impact on their lives:

·  78% feel cared for by their community

·  71% feel they are helping their family

·  60% do not get into less trouble

·  59% find it is easier to learn at school

Growth

By the end of year 2020, our goal is to:

·  Feed 500,000 children at more than 5,000 program locations nationwide

·  Provide 17.5 million hunger-free weekends