Statewide program seeks to keep Idaho schoolchildren fed

A recent report from Feeding America stated that 16% of Idaho children face food insecurity throughout the year. One Meridian-based nonprofit is doing what it can to reduce that number.

The Idaho Foodbank recently announced the beginning of its statewide Back to School campaign to keep kids fed. The campaign will raise funds and awareness of the food bank’s children’s programs.

Two of the programs, Backpack and School Pantry, are ways the nonprofit is tackling the issue. The Backpack program supplies children with food over the weekend, “providing kid-friendly food at the end of the week during the school year.” Items are easy to prepare and are meant for consumption over Saturday and Sunday. The Idaho Foodbank stated it provided 68,000 Backpack meals for children during last year’s program.

More than 15,000 households benefited from the School Pantry program last year, which provides easy access to food to schoolchildren and their families at a pantry housed within schools.

“Our Backpack and School Pantry programs have a meaningful impact on the lives of Idaho children and their families,” said Randy Ford, president and CEO of The Idaho Foodbank. “We are proud of our partnerships with schools that allow us to work together to help children have access to nutritious food so they can focus on learning.”

In the corporate world, The Idaho Foodbank partners with companies to help support the nonprofit’s efforts. ICCU is a statewide sponsor of the Back to School Campaign, and other companies support the program as well as other initiatives from the food bank. Among those are Albertsons, KeyBank, Colliers, Fred Meyer, Kendall Auto Idaho and many others.

Community members can donate to the programs as well at idahofoodbank.org/backtoschool. https://idahofoodbank.org/backtoschool/