The Mankato Clinic Foundation awards grant to Feeding Our Communities Partners-BackPack Food Program.

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.