Over 45% of students in the Bath area are food challenged, and in some schools, it’s as high as 65%. Though all students receive free breakfast and lunch at school, those meals may be the only meals of the day for some.
The Bath Area BackPack Program is pushing to raise $60,000 to help sustain its efforts to provide food to students outside of school hours.
“A donation of $300 will feed a hungry student for a school year,” the group said in a news release. “We are an all-volunteer organization and rely on the generous donations of individuals, businesses, churches to help us feed hungry children in our community. The need is great and we’d appreciate your support.”
The group works with Regional School Unit 1 elementary schools (Dike-Newell, Woolwich and Phippsburg) by providing bags of food to cover weekends and holidays. The program supports food and snack pantries at Fisher Mitchell, Dike-Newell, Morse High School, Midcoast Youth Center and the Bath Y Veggie Van. It also distributes 2,000 pounds of free produce through participating schools and partners supplied by Good Shepherd Food Bank. This effort reaches over 200 local students.
Current economic conditions has led to an increase in the number of families needing assistance, according to the BackPack Program. The group works closely with the Midcoast Youth Center and the Bath Area Family YMCA’s Veggie Van, which assists over 50 families and their caregivers. Along with low-cost items items and free produce from Good Shepherd, the BackPack Program purchases food from local stores and provides grocery and food cards for homeless youth at Morse High School.
Tax deductible donations can be mailed to the Bath Area BackPack Program, P.O. Box 1155, Bath, ME 04530. Secure electronic/credit card donations can be made online at bathareabackpack.org.