The Albany Backpack Program
Donation protected
Children in our community go hungry every weekend during the school year. This is a fact.
A partnership among the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society, The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, The Albany Fund for Education, and the Junior League of Albany wants to change that.
With the support of the City School District of Albany, this group of community stakeholders has developed a plan to feed children who are hungry over the weekends off from school. Children identified by community schools in Albany will be given a bag full of food to take home each weekend during the school year.
Our goal is to expand the existing weekend feeding program to every public elementary school in Albany and expand it year-over-year so that every child who needs a backpack full of food for the weekend has one. Here is our plan:
455 total backpacks for 2016-2017
655 total backpacks for 2017-2018
855 total backpacks for 2018-2019
1055 total backpacks for 2019-2020
Each bag includes
· 2 breakfast items
· 3 entrées
· 1 loaf of bread
· Milk card for a gallon of milk (distributed every other week)
· 2 juice boxes (100% juice when possible)
· Fresh fruits
· Canned vegetables (distributed once a month)
· 2 snacks
The cost of food plus a location to receive and pack these bags, and the cost of delivering this program is $239 per child per year. We need these funds immediately to help us launch the program at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year. Our goal is to raise $75,000 in donations to help us fund and expand this program over the next year.
Many community institutions have already pledged funds to support this program, but we need your help! We are grateful to the following existing donors:
SEFCU ($10,000)
Albany Fund for Education ($5,000)
Junior League of Albany ($5,000)
Anonymous Individual ($2,500)
Pledged donations ($24,961)
We know that individual support is the key to this program. When hungry children have access to healthy food 7 days a week, they perform better academically, attend school more often, and are less disruptive in class. Schenectady has operated a similar program over the last few years, and their data show, for children receiving a backpack:
- 33% of students showed improvement in proficiency (English Language Arts)
- 4% higher attendance rate
- 9% decrease in the number of disciplinary interactions
Our kids need your help. Please consider a donation today.
A partnership among the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society, The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, The Albany Fund for Education, and the Junior League of Albany wants to change that.
With the support of the City School District of Albany, this group of community stakeholders has developed a plan to feed children who are hungry over the weekends off from school. Children identified by community schools in Albany will be given a bag full of food to take home each weekend during the school year.
Our goal is to expand the existing weekend feeding program to every public elementary school in Albany and expand it year-over-year so that every child who needs a backpack full of food for the weekend has one. Here is our plan:
455 total backpacks for 2016-2017
655 total backpacks for 2017-2018
855 total backpacks for 2018-2019
1055 total backpacks for 2019-2020
Each bag includes
· 2 breakfast items
· 3 entrées
· 1 loaf of bread
· Milk card for a gallon of milk (distributed every other week)
· 2 juice boxes (100% juice when possible)
· Fresh fruits
· Canned vegetables (distributed once a month)
· 2 snacks
The cost of food plus a location to receive and pack these bags, and the cost of delivering this program is $239 per child per year. We need these funds immediately to help us launch the program at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year. Our goal is to raise $75,000 in donations to help us fund and expand this program over the next year.
Many community institutions have already pledged funds to support this program, but we need your help! We are grateful to the following existing donors:
SEFCU ($10,000)
Albany Fund for Education ($5,000)
Junior League of Albany ($5,000)
Anonymous Individual ($2,500)
Pledged donations ($24,961)
We know that individual support is the key to this program. When hungry children have access to healthy food 7 days a week, they perform better academically, attend school more often, and are less disruptive in class. Schenectady has operated a similar program over the last few years, and their data show, for children receiving a backpack:
- 33% of students showed improvement in proficiency (English Language Arts)
- 4% higher attendance rate
- 9% decrease in the number of disciplinary interactions
Our kids need your help. Please consider a donation today.
Organizer and beneficiary
Caitlin Monjeau
Organizer
Albany, NY
Liz Hitt
Beneficiary