BackPack Program 20th Anniversary

The BackPack Program began during the 2004-05 school year at Clinton Elementary School, sending home 50 kids with food-filled backpacks on Friday afternoons. The program quickly took off and today, serves more than 2,100 children and their families each school year. The program seeks to help students who qualify for their school’s Free or Reduced Lunch Programs by providing a food-filled backpack to the child and family over the weekend. Since launching two decades ago, our Child Hunger Programs have grown. Today, four initiatives provide fuel for learning―BackPack Program, School Food Markets and Pantries, Student-Parent Voucher Program and Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) Emergency Pantry. Combined, these efforts will serve about 6,800 students and families at more than 110 schools across Southeast Nebraska each month this academic year.

Filling BackPacks for 20 Years

When Lincolnites Diana Pasco and Nancy Ganser learned about a program in St. Joseph, Missouri, that sent food-filled backpacks home with kids on the weekend, both had a similar thought: Can we do that here?

Children need nutritious food to thrive every day of the week. For students who rely on school-provided breakfast and lunch, the weekend can create hungry stomachs. A program like this could help bridge that gap and ensure kids have access to nourishment when school is out.

The two discussed the idea with then Food Bank of Lincoln Executive Director Scott Young. With a shared determination, commitment to feeding kids and a community network of support, this concept became a reality.

In its 20-year history, nearly 45,000 (duplicated) students have participated in the BackPack Program, connecting more than 1.5 million food-filled backpacks to students and families during the school year.

Through the BackPack Program, participating students receive easy-to-prepare meals and snacks for the weekend. It costs about $275 to provide one child with a food-filled backpack for an entire year. If you would like to financially support the BackPack Program, click here.