Thanks to the Mankato Clinic Foundation, the BackPack Food Program, an initiative of Feeding Our Communities Partners, is receiving $6,000 to be used for the expansion of the program as it strives to reach the approximate 1,200 hungry elementary students in need of assistance by the end of the 2015-16 school year.
“The money from this grant comes at a very critical time for us,” said Melinda Wedzina, executive director of Feeding Our Communities Partners. “We are about to take on five new schools during the 2014-15 school year. The expansion of our program is necessary to meet the needs of the hungry elementary students in our community and this grant will help fund the process.” Currently, the BackPack Food Program provides a weekend’s worth of nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals and snacks to over 600 students in six Mankato area elementary schools. Volunteers assemble ziptop bags with breakfast, lunch and snacks and then deliver the food packs to schools every Thursday. Teachers discreetly distribute the food packs to students on Fridays. Food packs are also provided for extended school breaks such as Winter Break and Spring Break. Over the course of the school year, the program provides approximately 210 meals and 105 snacks to each participating student. The Mankato Clinic Foundation provides resources to organizations that effectively promote and improve community health and wellness. Since the primary focus of the Foundation is to support the health and well-being of the community, projects and programs supported include education and scholarship initiatives focused on health care, health education and wellness. The physicians at the Mankato Clinic provide the majority of the Foundation funding as a means to give back to the community by providing support to organizations which strive to improve health and wellness. Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis and are considered only through the application process. Applications can be obtained at mankatoclinic.com. MANKATO, MN (June 14, 2013)―A remarkable local sixth grader raised $2,700 for the BackPack Food Program this weekend by selling cupcakes, cookies and bars from the driveway of her North Mankato home. On Saturday, June 8, Lauren Senden, her parents, her grandparents, her best friend Riley and Riley’s mother, held their sixth annual one-of-a-kind bake sale featuring cowgirl cookies, owl cupcakes and edible flip-flops. Event-preparation and baking began early in May. Supplies for the 22 dozen cupcakes and other treats were purchased by Lauren’s parents, with support from a gift card donated by Hilltop Hy-Vee. “The BackPack Food Program has helped many families and it is so important for kids to be fed so they can stay focused in school. Its work is greatly needed in our community,” said Lauren. Customers placed their order and drank complementary lemonade while their baked goods were packaged by family members stationed in a pop-up camper parked in the driveway. Lauren’s grandfathers provided support by acting as cashiers. Many of the treats sold out before the stand closed for business at 5:30pm. Lauren is already planning for next year. She collected email addresses from customers so she can send them a reminder to stop by the first Saturday after school lets out. The BackPack Food Program discreetly provides low-income students with packs of nutritious, child-friendly meals to take home for weekends and school breaks. Launched in March 2010, enrollment during the 2012-2013 school year exceeded 500 students at four Mankato elementary schools—Franklin, Kennedy, Washington, and Rosa Parks. As community support increases, FOCP will implement the BackPack Food Program at additional Mankato area elementary schools. With more food than ever, why is hunger increasing? Virtual demand competes with real demand--prices skyrocket and food goes where it isn't needed or doesn't go anywhere at all.
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-01/more-food-ever-why-hunger-rise Thanks to the Mankato Clinic Foundation, Feeding Our Communities Partners (FOCP) is $10,000 closer to meeting its budget to feed 530 children through the 2012-2013 school year. FOCP facilitates the BackPack Food Program at four local elementary schools to ensure low-income, food insecure children have a source of nutrition for weekends and school breaks.
“The BackPack Food Program is a project our board of directors continues to give high priority as it supports the very basic health need, providing food for children in our community who would otherwise be hungry on the weekends,” commented Marcia Bahr, president of the Mankato Clinic Foundation. “This program has changed the lives of many families in Mankato; we are proud to be associated with it.” The Mankato Clinic Foundation provides resources to organizations and endeavors that effectively promote and improve community health and wellness. Since the primary focus of the Foundation is to support the health and well-being of the community, projects and programs supported include education and scholarships initiatives focused on health care, health education and wellness. “The Mankato Clinic Foundation has been a generous supporter since the start of the program and we are excited to recognize them as a Platinum Partner again this year,” announced Melinda Wedzina, executive director of FOCP. “Our goal is to reach every local elementary student in need. With the Foundation’s contribution, we will be better positioned to consider expansion this fall.” Could you feed a family of four on $120/week? United Way Board members gave it a shot; their experience demonstrates how important a bag of food sent home in a child’s backpack can be.
http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1303526343/United-Way-board-takes-exercise-in-hunger-budget First of all, thank you to everyone who helped to make this past weekend's food drive at Sam's Club such a success! The numbers are in and we are very excited. This weekend's grand total, including both food and cash donations, came out to $2,686.06! That's enough for approximately 715 food packs, or one and a half weekend's worth of food for the BackPack Food Program. We would like to extend a very special thank you to the Mankato Sam's Club for all of their generosity and support. To the left is a picture of what our van looked like after Day 1 of the food drive. Again, thank you to everyone who was involved! We are looking forward to the start of a new school year, knowing that we have such a generous community supporting us. The BackPack Food Program and Sam's Club are teaming up to pack the shelves with a Back-to-School Food Drive! This event will give Sam's Club shoppers the opportunity to purchase Sam's Club food items and Sam's Club gift cards on behalf of the BackPack Food Program. If you are interested in donating, just stop by the BackPack tent in the Sam's Club parking lot during regular store hours on Friday, July 27th or Saturday, July 28th and select the food item(s) that you would like to donate. Then when you are all finished with your shopping, drop off the food item(s) in the pallet totes near the exit as you leave! We are very excited about this opportunity to start the school year off right, and we hope you will join us in making this event, and this school year, a success!
We love our volunteers! Yesterday was our Volunteer Recognition Party and we had over 40 of our wonderful volunteers come to the event. If you want to see more pictures from the party, just "like" us on Facebook! If you volunteered with us this school year but were unable to attend the party, you can stop by BackPack Central and pick up your certificate when you get a chance. Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday and made the event such a success! We had fun and we hope you did, too. We love our volunteers! If you volunteered with us during the 2011-2012 school year, we want to show our appreciation. Please join us on Wednesday, June 20th from 11:00 am- 1:30 pm at BackPack Central (2080 Lookout Drive) for a Volunteer Recognition Party. RSVP with the names of those who will be attending to: bmyre@feedingourcommunitiespartners.org or call (507) 381-4562. The party will be open house style, so feel free to come and go as your schedule allows! We look forward to seeing you there!
As the 2011-2012 school year begins to wrap up, we are getting excited about this summer! We have a fantastic team of very excited people helping us out and we are looking forward to potential expansion this fall. But, as always, we need your help! We are so thankful for all of the donations and volunteers thus far and we hope to see those numbers increase even more as the school year approaches. Be checking back here and on our Facebook and Twitter pages for upcoming events and opportunities to get involved!
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