Hunger doesn’t take the weekend off

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  • Feed a hungry child in your community

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Who We Are

We are advocates, partners and collaborators dedicated to changing the lives of students.

Why We Do It

So kids don’t have to worry about what to eat on the weekend when they don’t have access to school meals during the school year.

What We Do

We offer hope through a consistent bag of easy-to-prepare meals on the weekend so kids can focus on important things - like being a kid.

What is the BackPack Weekend Food Program?

Between 800 to 1,000 students in Gaston County Schools will go home this weekend to a household with very little food to eat or no food at all. The BackPack Weekend Food Program, Inc. (BWFP) is dedicated to providing healthy, non-perishable meals to students to take home on the weekend during the school year so they can come to school the following week better nourished and ready to learn.

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The saying, it takes a village to raise a child became even more evident the last several weeks. When schools closed, we responded quickly to make sure our kids and families had enough to eat on the weekend with the help of many of our friends. Thank you and to all the individuals and agencies in our community who are serving others in this time of great need.

Together We Can Make a Difference

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Hunger Facts

Gaston County Statistics

  • 1.6+ million meals distributed since 2011
  • 500+ volunteers
  • 43 schools
  • 45 program partners

During the 2019-20 school year:

  • - 2,755,824 pounds of food distributed in 2019-20
  • -138,588 meals served in 2019-20 (through school closing in mid-March)
  • -911 students in grades k-12 received meals

Partnering with BackPack Weekend Food Program allowed First Presbyterian-Belmont to further engage its members in addressing the often invisible ills of hunger, particularly the effects on our children’s well-being and development. The Program has also offered us opportunities to network with other faith communities and nonprofits to avail more food security to our children when school is not in session. So what does this all mean to me? It’s not just about hunger or children or need: it is about the joy of being in relationship with one another, valuing each other. It is about the joy of walking together and lifting each other up along the way.” –
Sue Johnson, Volunteer/Partner