Our Programs
Backpacks full of food!
We started giving out backpacks full of food to hungry children in 2009. Since then we have sent home over 1.1 million pounds of food! Each backpack has over 5 pounds of nutritious snacks and basic staples to meet the supplemental needs of a child each week. Students take the backpacks home each Friday and return them the following week for a refill. In a typical school year about 400 children take advantage of our backpack program each week.
A typical food backpack may contain:
cartons of shelf stable milk
granola bars
instant oatmeal packets
soup
cans of tuna or chicken
a box of pancake or muffin mix
jars of peanut butter
vegetables
fruits
Food in Middle and High Schools
We have recognized that many of our students in need feel uncomfortable carrying home a backpack of food. To address their needs we have established Food Pantries in the local middle and high schools. Students can access this food to meet their nutritional needs at school or to confidentially take food home with them. We are always looking for new avenues for kids to directly and confidentially access food for themselves and their families.
We have heard heart breaking stories from our students who use our food pantry to not only feed themselves but also feed their siblings. School counselors have full access to our pantries and frequently use of food to address issues of hunger and food insecurity.
The FB4K Family Pantry
Our mission is to feed food insecure children. We have opened our Key Center distribution center to the children, families, and community members in need of food. We are thrilled to serve in person and by home delivery- offering food staples, dairy, meats, and produce on a rotating availability.
The COVID-19 epidemic and economic upheaval has created a serious need for supplemental food within our community. Many families have lost jobs and are struggling to feed their children. We are currently distributing much more food to many more families than ever before in the 11 year history of our program.
As soon as schools closed in March of 2020, we had to radically change our approach – we immediately
began weekly distribution of food via “drive by” pick up at three locations. We were the first and
only organization in our community to do so.
As the COVID situation continues, the need for food has increased significantly - more than doubled. We are currently serving over 400 children and their families each week through "drive by” pick-up locations. Each family receives 40 to 50 pounds of food based upon need - enough food to help sustain them for an entire week. We are currently distributing over 8,000 pounds of food each week!