Program Details
The BackPack Program helps alleviate child hunger by discreetly providing hungry children with bags of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food every Friday afternoon, so they have food to eat throughout the weekend. Although free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs provide significant nutritional benefits to students during the school day, many disadvantaged children do not have access to regular meals when school is not in session.
Each BackPack Contains
- 2+ breakfast items (cereal, oatmeal packets, graham crackers, granola bars)
- 3+ entrées (mac & cheese, PB & J, Spaghettios, tuna, soup)
- A loaf of bread
- Milk card for a gallon of milk (distributed every other week)
- Egg card for a dozen eggs (distributed every other week)
- Fresh fruits
- Canned vegetables (distributed monthly)
- 2 snacks (cookies, popcorn, pudding, etc.)
Menus change each week to provide participating children with variety.
Who We Serve
The BackPack Program serves nearly 4,700 students in 220 schools across 22 counties.
List of Participating Schools
Program Fact Sheet
Backpack Toolkit
Frequently Asked Questions
Find Food Flier
Invoice Cheat Sheet
2024 Delivery Calendar – RFB
2024 Delivery Calendar – FBHV
BP Delivery Sites 2024
Delivery Protocol for Partners
Culturally Responsive Food Information
Microwave Recipe Guide from Food Bank of the Southern Tier
New Schools
The BackPack Program continues to grow. We are excited to talk to potential new BackPack partner schools about enrolling in the Program throughout the school year.
Please contact the Food Bank to learn more about the onboarding process.
Make a Gift
You can support the Backpack Program by making a gift using our donation form and choosing “Children’s Programs” in the dropdown menu. To designate your donation to a specific school, please include it in the Partner Agency Name/Number field.