Food For Kids "Back Pack" Program This upcoming FY 2008-09, the program will expand to include 14 Title I schools serving a total of 820 students. Currently, we serve 671 students weekly at 11 sites and have numerous schools on a waiting list. Projected goals & objectives: To provide over 24,600 nutritious backpacks weighing approximately 246,000 pounds to 820 at-risk children at 14 sites for consumption on weekends.             The goal of our Food For Kids Backpack Program is to provide nutritious healthy food to children at risk of hunger for preparation and consumption at their homes on weekends when children are out of school to break the cycle of hunger and food insecurity in low-income communities; to promote the health of the children; and to give them a better understanding of the benefits of healthy eating and the importance of a proper diet.    The racial and ethnic composition of these two cities is very similar according to the US Census Bureau. Hampton is comprised of 46.7 % Caucasians and 46.8% African Americans. In Newport News, Caucasians make up 50.6% of the population, and African Americans 41.3%. In both cities, the Latino/Hispanic population is continuing to increase.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates for 2005 (final release date of January 2008), 14.2% of Newport News residents and 13.4% of Hampton residents live at or below the poverty level. Amongst all children below the age of 18 in these two cities, the statistics are even bleaker, with over one in five children living at or below the poverty line (21.2% of children in Newport News and 20.3% of children in Hampton).   about our children... The children targeted attend Title I schools, schools where over 50 percent of students qualify for free or reduced price school meals, and live in Section 8 housing, an Enterprise zone, or other low-income neighborhoods in the urban centers of our service area, the cities of Newport News and Hampton.  This past school year we provided 11 Title I school with backpacks; 60% of these schools had over 70% of their students receiving free/reduced meals.   The difference between our Backpack Program and these other groups is that our program provides healthy food bags and nutrition information for the child as well as the entire family. Our Backpack Program is not a onetime event for the children.  Since its inception in l986, the Foodbank has distributed over 74,444,382 pounds of food to benefit the needy and hungry of the Virginia Peninsula. The goals of the organization are as follows: to ensure future capability to acquire, store and distribute food for those in need with-in our community; to secure sufficient funding to sustain operations; to recruit, develop and maintain the most qualified and committed people as personnel and board members; to collaborate with agencies and other organizations to provide food for those need; and to educate the community about the problem of hunger, basic nutrition, safe food handling and self-reliance. They continuously receive nutrition information as well as food bags during the school year. Our Nutrition/Education staff is also a referral resource in the community. The staff is in close contact with Parent Involvement Specialists in the schools to assist students who are faced with other challenges. We enjoy creating partnerships because we know we could not provide our services without the help of our community partners.

To have the capability to access and distribute nutritious food commodities, either from donated sources or purchased

To provide the schools and the children important nutrition education to assist them in forming healthy eating habits through our Nutrition Self-Sufficiency Department.   

This past school year we provided 11 Title I school with backpacks; 60% of these schools had over 70% of their students receiving free/reduced meals. 

This upcoming FY 2008-09, the program will expand to include 14 Title I schools serving a total of 820 students.

Currently, we serve 671 students weekly at 11 sites and have numerous schools on a waiting list.

Our Backpack Program sites are located in the urban centers of our service area, in the cities of Newport News and Hampton. Over 50% of the children attending public schools in Newport News qualify for free or reduced price school meals.


The racial and ethnic composition of these two cities is very similar according to the US Census Bureau. Hampton is comprised of 46.7 % Caucasians and 46.8% African Americans. In Newport News, Caucasians make up 50.6% of the population, and African Americans 41.3%. In both cities, the Latino/Hispanic population is continuing to increase. 

They continuously receive nutrition information as well as food bags during the school year. Our Nutrition/Education staff is also a referral resource in the community. The staff is in close contact with Parent Involvement Specialists in the schools to assist students who are faced with other challenges. We enjoy creating partnerships because we know we could not provide our services without the help of our community partners. 

The Foodbank, VCEP and OHA have come together to combat poverty and childhood hunger throughout the Peninsula. Our Nutrition/Education staff has become a community support team to help fill in gaps in service