The Backpack Program

“When we work to end childhood hunger, we are giving our love to kids who need it so much they will never ask for it"  Beau Bridges

Number of folks: 6

Accomplished: 1,000 backpacks filled 

On our first day, we were tasked with filling back packs. Well, not the actual back packs, but plastic sacks that will be placed into back packs and distributed to the children, The Food Bank packs all 14,000 sacks needed for a school semester within a week or so and stores them at the food bank for distribution to the schools on a weekly basis.

The back pack program is an extremely popular volunteer opportunity in the Pocatello. Many church youth groups, schools groups and community organizations volunteer to help during backpack week. The FoodBank sets up large pallets of food packaged in single servings (eg. peanut butter, cereal, juice, raisins, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti-0s, beef stew, milk, etc) in assembly line fashion. A person is stationed in front of a pallet. At the start of the line, someone grabs a plastic sack, opens it, stuffs in a single food item and passes it to the next person. The sack is passed down the line, a food item is placed inside and handed off to the next person. At the end of the line, the sack is tied off, clicked off with a hand held tally counter and placed in a huge card board box storage container. When we were there, 3 assembly lines were set up. The approximately 30 volunteers consisted of Grace folks and a group parents and children from a home schooled organization. The children ranged in age from 4 to late teens. I was impressed and a little surprised that even the youngest could and did help out. In the 2 hours we were there, we filled 1,000 sacks!

Here are some facts about the back pack program provided by the food bank.

• 65,517 Idaho children do not always know where they will find their next meal.

• We are the 24th hungriest state in the nation
• Hungry children are more than twice as likely to have frequent headaches,ear infections and colds
• Hungry children are also three times as likely to miss school
• 101,695 children in Idaho schools depend on free or reduced-price breakfast and lunches during the school year
• For some children, Saturdays and Sundays are the longest days of the week.

What happens to hungry children over the weekend?

• The Backpack Program

• The Idaho Foodbank provides children identified as chronically hungry, a backpack filled with nutritious food, freeing them from the stigma of poverty that many low-income children face
• Backpacks are discreetly distributed to children on the last day before the weekend or holiday vacation among their peers.
• Food is child-friendly, non-perishable, easily consumed and nutritious
• The weight of the food package is around six pounds.
• The pack contains 13 food items for the weekend Each pack contains similar items.
• The cost of each backpack refill per week per child is $6.20

• Nationally, Feeding America members distribute as many as 35,000 backpacks each week
• Throughout Idaho, we distribute 1,78the need is far greater. Potentially we could distribute 7,000

Starting Out

In  John 21:17 (New International Version), we read:
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."  Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."


Jesus  also told us in Matthew 25:35 - 40:
³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'  ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
 ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Knowing what Jesus commands, and that the the need for helping to feed the hungry is more urgent than ever in these times,I am leading  a small group at Grace Lutheran Church. The group meets weekly at the Idaho Foodbank located on 555 South First Street in Pocatello. I have committed to the FoodBank to be there every Friday thru April. If the it works out well, we may continue  beyond that.

There are four paid  employees at the Foodbank but much of what is accomplished there depends on volunteers. Each Friday from 1-3, a team from our church will dedicate a couple of hours working on projects prepared for us by the director of the foodbank. Via this blog, I  will chronicle our weekly progress and share a bit about the work of the Idaho foodbank.

If you are interested in joining us, just come. If you need more information, call Grace Lutheran Church at
(208) 237-0467.