www.paulding.gafcp.org

Weekend Food Back Pack Program

 The teacher/counselor (or someone at the school) identifies the children/families with an extreme need for food over the weekend – this program is designed to assist younger children who come to school hungry on Monday morning indicating they may not have had access to food that they can easily prepare for themselves  Parents are sent a note prior to the child receiving food to give them an opportunity to opt in or out of the program  Programs are unique to each school as determined by the counselor/principal/sponsor  The total number of children to be served is given to the sponsor each week (includes siblings in household)  The list may increase or decrease depending on the need and the ability of the sponsor to provide food items  The names of the children are confidential and are not shared with the sponsor unless specific permission is given by parent or caregiver  Volunteers collect food items and packs enough bags for each child to have food for the weekend (the number of days and the number of food items for each day will be determined by the sponsor)  The food bags must be labeled and delivered to the school by Friday morning of each week (unless the food is stored and packed at the school)  A volunteer or someone at the school delivers the bags of food to the child’s teacher or places it in the child’s backpack before the end of school each Friday (this process is agreed on by the sponsor and school contact)  The location for storage of food items will be determined by the school and the sponsor

Suggested Food Items needed:  Instant oatmeal/grits  Breakfast bars  Easy-mac (individual containers of macaroni and cheese)  Small boxes of cereal  Pop top cans of spaghetti/meatballs etc  Tuna - foil packs preferred  Canned roast beef or chicken (must be easy to open)  Soup with pop-top cans  Ramen Noodles  Single-serving fruit, pudding, jello with fruit in it  Single servings of veggies, granola and nutri-bars  Cheese crackers  Flavored juice packets to be mixed with water or juice boxes (packets are easier for the child to carry)  Boxed fruit (raisins, etc.)  Individually packaged chips, cookies, gummie snacks, etc.

This is not an all inclusive list – items may be added making sure they are things that a small child can prepare without danger of injury. Some schools allow peanut products some do not…always make sure the school and the sponsor are in agreement regarding type of food items. Some programs send enough food for three meals for two days some provide enough for two meals and a snack, some just send PB&J with bread and fruit, etc.