Summer break for school children is a month away! As part of our Community Food Partnerships, Weaver Street Market and TABLE are asking shoppers to make donations to fill backpacks with healthy food for kids at risk for hunger during the summer months when they do not have access to free school meals. The campaign begins Wednesday, May 18.
Last May shoppers and owners donated enough funds for Weaver Street Market to source the healthy food to fill all the backpacks for TABLE’s Summer Weekend Backpack program. Your donations funded the entire summer program—19,600 meals for TABLE’s kids! Because of your generosity and our partnership with TABLE, they added 50 more children to their year-long program, and they have included even more healthy food options in the backpack meals.
Putting together the food list for the “backpacks” presents a number of challenges and opportunities. Together with TABLE we have been testing products to come up with a selection that includes more fruits and vegetables, while working within a number of constraints: The food must be light enough for a child to carry home (under seven pounds total), safe for a child (non-refrigerated foods in non-breakable containers), and easy for a child to eat (ready-to-eat foods or foods that require minimal adult supervision).
For the 2016 summer program, KIND Healthy Snacks has doubled its contribution—donating Healthy Grain Bars and its new Breakfast Bar for each backpack donation. Weaver Street Market employees have set a goal of raising enough funds and volunteer labor to cover the costs of including half a loaf of Weaver Street Market healthy grain bread in each backpack this summer.
Our campaign runs May 18 to 31. During that time, you can participate by making a donation in our stores—we have several options:
“Buddy Up” — $30 donation for food to fill 2 backpacks
“Fill Me Up” — $15 donation for food to fill 1 backpack
“Half Packed” — $7.50 donation for food to fill ½ backpack
You can also volunteer at one of our community food sorts. Check the blog next week for new information on volunteer opportunities for Summer TABLE.
Weaver Street Market’s Community Food Partnerships
Three times a year, we partner with a local hunger-relief nonprofit to support their efforts to connect food insecure families in our community with nutritious food.
The lack of sufficient funds for food is an ongoing concern for low-income families. Hunger and the threat of hunger lead to an instability that jeopardizes not only the health of children in these families, but also their sense of security and well-being in the world. Studies show that children who do not receive adequate daily nutrition are at increased risk for serious health issues, particularly obesity, and not surprisingly, children who are hungry do not perform as well in school.
Organizations such as TABLE provide a reliable food source at times when the food insecure are most vulnerable. TABLE’s Weekend Backpack Program and Summer TABLE provide food to children when they do not have access to free school meals.