Programs:

Kids’ BackPack Program

Connecticut Food Bank’s Kids’ BackPack Program brings a simple solution to a basic need that is not adequately met for many Connecticut children — food. By partnering with local public school systems, teachers and staff, Connecticut Food Bank can identify students who are food insecure and provide them with kid-friendly food that is distributed discreetly at school at the end of each week. Through the Kids’ BackPack Program, we hope that weekends without adequate nourishment are no longer an issue for children in households where sufficient and consistent food supplies fall short of what is needed.

How It Works

Connecticut Food Bank’s Kids’ BackPack Program is offered on a pilot basis to a small number of schools in Connecticut Food Bank’s service area. Schools with 12 to 24 students in need of supplemental food, such as fresh or canned fruit, cereal bars, peanut butter, macaroni & cheese, and juice, at home complete a letter of agreement and designate a staff person to serve as the school’s Kids’ BackPack Program School Coordinator. Connecticut Food Bank will provide the School Coordinator with the necessary training, paperwork and procedures to set up the program. Connecticut Food Bank staff members are also available to assist with the program’s implementation and to answer questions.

School staff is responsible for identifying students in need and for determining the best method of distributing the food to eligible children.

Distribution

Each child will receive approximately ten different food items that are nutritious, kid-friendly, shelf-stable and ready to eat with little or no cooking (some might need to be heated in the microwave). Each week, the food items are placed into bags by Connecticut Food Bank staff and volunteers at our East Haven warehouse and packed six per box. At the school, the School Coordinator removes a bag of food from the box and puts it into a child's backpack on Friday or before a holiday weekend. Using the student’s own backpack (or one provided solely for this purpose) helps shield the child from any stigma that might be associated with being hungry or receiving food assistance.

Service Areas

Currently there are Kids’ BackPack Programs in 30 schools in the Bridgeport, Danbury, Derby, Middletown, New Haven, and Stratford school districts. Connecticut Food Bank is actively seeking other locations to sponsor Kids’ BackPack Programs.

For More Information

If you would like to learn more about the Kids’ BackPack Program for your school, please contact Phaedra Ebron, Child Nutrition Coordinator, at (203) 469-5000, ext. 333, or pebron@ctfoodbank.org.