STARTING YOUR OWN
BACKPACK PROGRAM
Guide for organizations providing weekend food to children in need
Revised July 2013
SECOND HARVEST INTRODUCTION
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee's mission is to feed hungry people and work to solve hunger issues in our community. Second Harvest opened its doors in 1978 with commitment from several community leaders. The purpose of the organization was to provide a central distribution center for companies, groups and individuals who wished to help provide food for hungry people in Middle Tennessee.
Modeled after the first food bank established in Phoenix in the mid-1970s, Second Harvest was designed to collect food that would otherwise be wasted, inspect and sort this food and distribute it to soup kitchens, pantries and shelters serving the hungry. During the first year, this process resulted in a total distribution of 160,000 pounds of food to 75 Partner Agencies.
Today, Second Harvest distributes tens of millions of pounds each year and counts soup kitchens, food pantries, senior centers, drug & alcohol treatment centers, youth programs and homeless shelters among its Partner Agencies receiving food and working to end hunger. Second Harvest is one of the largest and most comprehensive of over 200 food banks in the Feeding America network. We partner with more than 400 Partner Agencies throughout our 46-county service area in Middle and West Tennessee to feed the hungry.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
331 Great Circle Road
Nashville, TN 37228
Phone: 615-329-3491
Fax: 615-329-3988
secondharvestmidtn.org
Thank you for your interest in starting a BackPack Program! We hope you will find this to be a very rewarding program to benefit children in your community. The following are suggestions and best practices to help make your program successful.
WHAT IS THE BACKPACK PROGRAM?
The BackPack Program meets the needs of chronically hungry children by providing them with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available.
Second Harvest has several BackPack Programs throughout our 46-county service area designed to provide weekend food assistance to elementary age children through their school or after-school program. Second Harvest’s ability to start and support new programs is limited and depends on funding received. As the demand for new BackPack Programs surpasses the funding available to start them, this handbook will serve as a resource for schools/programs interested in starting and running their own BackPack Program by gathering community support.
WHY START A BACKPACK PROGRAM?
A BackPack Program is a great way to get food directly into the hands of children who need it. In Tennessee, 25 percent of all children live in food insecure households, which mean they do not always know where they will find their next meal. Tennessee has the 7th highest rate of child food insecurity in the nation. In addition, more than half of Tennessee students qualify for the free or reduced price school lunch program.
A child who is unequipped to learn because of hunger and poverty is more likely to be poor as an adult. The BackPack Program is an effective way to address childhood hunger in your community.
IDENTIFY SCHOOLS / PROGRAMS TO SERVE
Do you have a school or after-school program in your area that has a need for the BackPack Program? Have you already made contact with school personnel and determined the need?
In getting started it is important that you don’t do too much too soon. Set your goals accordingly. Begin in the schools or after-school programs where you know the need is great and where the principal and/or staff are in full support of the program.
IDENTIFYING CHRONICALLY HUNGRY CHILDREN
The BackPack Coordinator works with teachers/staff to identify children to participate in the BackPack Program. The BackPack Program is specifically targeted toward chronically hungry children. The term “chronically hungry” refers to children who, for whatever reason, consistently have little or no access to food at home on the weekends.
Indicators of a chronically hungry child:
· Pocket or hoard food on Fridays for the weekend
· Will eat anything placed before them
· Lingers around food and asks for seconds
· Anxious for meals to be served
· May rush to cafeteria or show up early for breakfast
· Exhibits extreme hunger every Monday morning
· Puffy and swollen skin (protein deficiency)
· Very thin, with protruding bones (calorie deficiency)
· Red or cracked lips, dry & itchy eyes (vitamin deficiency)
· Obesity, caused by extreme poor nutrition
In addition, you may also see an impact on the child’s ability to function at school. If coupled with traits above, a child may also exhibit excessive absences, difficulty forming friendships, irritable behavior, excessive sickness and inability to concentrate.
A child who complains about being hungry is not necessarily a child who is chronically hungry. Growing children will have an appetite and say they are hungry at periods throughout the day. However, in the case of a chronically hungry child, certain questions can be asked to assess need. Inquiring if they ate breakfast, what they had for dinner the night before or if there is enough food in their home may provide needed information. Some children may be very open about what is going on at home. By listening to students and maintaining contact with parents, family needs can be assessed to help determine if the child needs to receive a BackPack.
It is the Coordinator’s responsibility to ensure all school personnel are aware of the BackPack Program and properly identify children for enrollment. Chronic hunger can be long-term or short-term. Children should not automatically be enrolled in the BackPack Program simply on the basis of having previously participated or being enrolled in the Free/Reduced Lunch Program. Throughout the year, each child’s situation should be assessed and they should be enrolled only if they are determined to be chronically hungry. If a child has demonstrated signs of not being in need of the program or the family situation has changed, the child should be removed from the program. We recommend talking to the child or parent about your decision. You will then have the ability to add a child that needs to be enrolled.
If a child or his/her family needs additional food assistance, please call Second Harvest or visit secondharvestmidtn.org for a referral.
SECURE FUNDING & ESTABLISH A BUDGET
Before starting a BackPack Program, you will need to decide how to fund the program. We suggest looking to community groups, civic organizations, businesses, churches and individuals for financial, as well as food donations. A school’s PTO or school board may also be a good place to rally support. Be creative and consider all types of funding sources. In our experience, funders have been very supportive of the BackPack Program.
You will also need to establish a budget of what it will take to support a BackPack Program. Account for food costs, delivery, plastic bags to pack food, storage, administrative/assembly/delivery time and any other miscellaneous costs. It costs Second Harvest approximately $3-$4 per bag of assembled food, including food cost and transportation.
FOOD INVENTORY & BACKPACK CONTENTS
If you have to purchase food, have you determined what kinds of foods are best and the amount per week to put in a BackPack? How will you separate the BackPack food from your regular food inventory, if applicable? Do you receive a large amount of donated items that can be used for the program? How will you purchase the food? You may be able to purchase food from Second Harvest as a Partner Agency. Please contact us for information on how your 501c3 non-profit or church might become a Partner Agency. Or, if you are a school, look within your community for a 501c3 or church willing to partner with you and Second Harvest.
If you receive donated food, then by all means get BackPack items from that supply and ask donors for BackPack-specific items. That will cut costs significantly! If you have to purchase most of your food you will want to carefully consider how many items to put in the BackPack. Remember some children may not have working appliances and there may be instances where there is no adult supervision to prepare meals. So select items that are kid-friendly to open and prepare.
We feel it is important to put the most nutritious items possible in BackPacks. Second Harvest’s Registered Dietitian has the following advice to provide the best nutrition for children:
· Include high protein items.
· Incorporate low-fat, calcium-rich food to ensure children are getting at least one of the 3-4 daily servings of dairy necessary for building strong bones and teeth.
· Choose nutritious cereal with no more than 25% of total calories from sugar (about 10 grams of sugar or less per serving).
· When selecting snacks, choose single serve packaging with no more than 35% of total calories from fat or sugar (with the exception of fat in nuts or seeds).
· If including a fruit cup, always select fruit packed in its own juice or light syrup.
· If including a juice box, always use 100% fruit juice.
A typical BackPack contains the following or similar:
· 1 pop-top entrée, 7.5 oz. (chili, macaroni O’s, beef stew, lasagna or beans & franks)
· 1 pack macaroni & cheese
· 1 individual box 100% fruit juice (apple, grape, etc.)
· 1 individual box shelf-stable milk (does not need refrigeration)
· 2 individual cereal bowls
· 1-2 individual fruit or applesauce cups
· Additional crackers, granola bars or snack items
ASSEMBLY & DELIVERY
Decide how you will package the BackPack food items. Second Harvest provides food in a Ziploc-type plastic bag, to be put in the child’s book bag by school staff. Some programs distribute the food in a standard backpack. However, Second Harvest decided against a standard backpack so participating children are not singled out, as well as for cost consideration.
Decide how you will assemble the BackPacks. Many programs utilize volunteers to assemble the food bags on a regular basis, such as once a month. Volunteer sources can include local church or youth groups, civic organizations, high school students in need of extra credit, school staff, 4-H members, individuals, etc. Organize the food items ahead of time; provide clear instruction, as well as ample space for assembly.
If storing food off school property, the number of times you deliver BackPacks to the school each month will depend on the number of children referred to the program and available storage space. Second Harvest typically delivers a month’s supply at a time. Until you get a feel for how much space your program will require, it may take more deliveries than necessary. At the time of delivery, you may want to get a physical inventory count so you can adjust the next order.
IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
· Identify a designated BackPack Coordinator that will be responsible for the overall implementation of the program on-site. It is recommended that this Coordinator be a staff member/teacher at the school or a dedicated and approved volunteer.
· Consider developing a manual or set of instructions that provides an overview of how the BackPack Program should operate. This would also contain all essential paperwork that would need to remain at the school with the BackPack Coordinator.
· Determine a storage location – either within or outside the school. All food should be stored in a secure, clean location with all food items 6” off the ground. Storage within residences is not recommended and is not allowed for any food obtained from Second Harvest.
· Develop criteria for who should receive a BackPack. Second Harvest suggests limiting BackPacks for children the school deems to be chronically hungry (see section outlining definition of chronic hunger).
· Ensure BackPacks are discreetly distributed to participating children, by an approved adult, each Friday or before a school holiday/break. Approved adults include teachers, staff or approved volunteers.
· Each school/program is free to decide the best way to distribute the BackPacks, but should maintain strict confidentiality at all times. Even if children are not embarrassed to receive the food, it is important to maintain the confidentiality and dignity of the participants to prevent potential problems such as other children seeing the food and asking for it or taking it.
o Avoid making public announcements to call these children out in any way.
o Select a central location where enrolled children can bring their book bags to pick up their BackPack each Friday.
o Do not hand food to the children in the midst of their peers who are not receiving food.
o Distribute the food in-class while students are at lunch or recess. BackPacks are dropped in the child’s book bag.
· Decide about extra food for siblings. If you allow extra food for siblings of a child enrolled in the BackPack Program, be cautious of sending home a bag that’s too heavy for the child to carry. You may decide it is not necessary to provide extra food for siblings, however, most school staff like the fact that children can take home extra if needed.
· Parental permission for children to receive a BackPack is generally left to the discretion of each school/program.