Foodbank Backpack Program
All too often, children who receive free or reduced price meals at school go hungry over the weekends. To help combat this problem, Chenango Valley has teamed up with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier to provide a kid-friendly, nutritious backpack of food each Friday for children who are at risk of hunger.
Each backpack contains at least eight items: two proteins, two grains, two dairy and two fruits or vegetables. The food is individually packaged and easy to prepare. Students attending Port Dickinson and Chenango Bridge are selected to participate in the program based on need.
During the 2014-2015 school year, the BackPack Program™ served 41 school districts in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. 2,849 children received packs each week. A total of 85,056 packs were distributed.