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Weld Food Bank
1108 H Street
Greeley, CO 80631
phone: 970-356-2199
fax: 970-356-2297
Hi, I’m Leona Martens, Executive Director of the Weld Food Bank. Here at the food bank, we want to make sure that no one in our community goes hungry. As you can see from this article in the Greeley Tribune, many kids who qualify for free breakfast and lunch at school do not have access to nutritious food over the weekend. Regardless of the reasons (unemployment, chronic poverty, homelessness, under-employment, etc.), I think that we can all agree that this is just not OK. In a civilized society, one of our core values must be that everyone has enough to eat. This is not just a problem for these affected families, this is a community issue. This article speaks to the need at just one school, John Evans Middle School. However, there are many hungry kids who attend schools throughout Weld County. As a community that produces so much food, there has to be a way to alleviate this situation. We have come up with a way to battle this problem, and you can help.
Here at the food bank we operate a program in partnership with local school districts and community organizations, and it is called The Backpack Program. This program helps feed kids on the weekends. Hungry kids get child-friendly food on Friday to put in their backpack and take home. These are nutritious, shelf-stable foods that do not require a stove, do not require refrigeration, and do not require a can-opener. The food bank even provides the actual backpacks to the kids who do not already have one.
By now you are probably thinking “how can I or my group (church, business, civic organization) get involved with this effort?” It is very simple – the food bank can help feed a child on the weekends for the whole school year for $75. You or your group can sponsor children for $75 each and ensure that these kids eat on the weekends. Last school year the food bank and partner organizations served 225 backpacks per week. Our goal is to feed 700 kids every weekend this school year to ensure that no children are going hungry. Won’t you help? Please consider making a special gift to this campaign, over and above your normal food bank support. Donate Now and help us to “Fill the Backpack.”
Leona Martens
The goal of the BACKPACK PROGRAM is to help alleviate child hunger in Weld County by providing hungry children with nutritious and easy to prepare food at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations. 
The program provides backpacks filled with food that is child-friendly, non-perishable, and easily-consumed. Backpacks are discreetly distributed to children on the last day before the weekend or holiday vacation. In fiscal year 2008-2009, Weld Food Bank distributed 8463 backpacks.
