Featured Partner: Fidelis Care

Fidelis Care began its involvement with the Regional Food Bank by serving as a sponsor of the Chefs & Vintners’ Harvest Dinner in 2004. It has greatly expanded its role by becoming one of the major sponsors of the Food Bank’s BackPack Program. They began by funding a new program at a high need elementary school in Troy. Then through a partnership with WRGB CBS 6, Fidelis created the BackPack Heroes campaign in 2016 by launching a telethon to educate the public about childhood hunger and encourage donations to the BackPack Program to help the Food Bank feed more children in need.

The campaign was a huge success. It raised over $42,000 in its first year and another $43,000 in 2017. That funding is supporting BackPack programs in 11 schools and providing 238 children with backpacks full of food for 30 weekends over two school years. It also brought unprecedented media coverage to the BackPack Program. raising awareness of the program’s important work.

But Fidelis did not stop there. For the 2017-2018 school year, they provided additional support to help BackPack programs in Saratoga, Montgomery, Schoharie, Otseqo, and Essex counties serve 250 more children. They renewed their support for 2018-2019 by providing new backpacks to all participating schools and are hosting BackPack Heroes again.

In 2019-20, Fidelis’ BackPack Heroes campaign supported nearly 350 students across 18 schools. When the COVID pandemic caused enormous changes to daily life during the 2020-21 Back to School season, Fidelis continued to stand with the Food Bank and the BackPack Program and helped raise over $110,000 to support 25 schools and over 600 children.

We are deeply grateful for our good friends at Fidelis Care. They have fully embraced the mission of the Food Bank and our BackPack Program and are helping improve the health and well-being of hundreds of our most vulnerable children.

Regional Food Bank Agency & Program Funders

About Fidelis Care

Fidelis Care provides health insurance coverage to 2.1 million individuals across New York State, thanks to its network of nearly 70,000 providers. Fidelis Care also works with local partners like the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in a dedicated effort to serve the most vulnerable members of the community and reach residents in need. To learn more about Fidelis Care’s community involvement follow them on Twitter at @fideliscare.