DID YOU KNOW THAT APPROXIMATELY 1 in 5 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PUTNAM COUNTY ARE FOOD INSECURE?

The Putnam Education Partnership (PEP) Foundation’s Backpack Program is a collaboration of local churches, organizations, and individual donors dedicated to serving children at risk of food insecurity in the Putnam County School System. The program provides food to participating students each Friday to eat on the weekend when meals might not otherwise be available or are in limited supply. 

Those who choose to participate in the program will receive a combination of the following*:

• (2) Breakfast meals: cereal, milk, juice

• (2) Lunch meals: canned meals, ready-to-eat meals

• (2) Snack Items: fruits, apple sauce, crackers, granola bars, peanut butter crackers

• *Please note that menu items may change as needed due to supply shortages or issues, and items not mentioned on this list above may be added

These items give students who enroll an opportunity to meet their nutritional needs so they can be ready for school when they return. The food is packaged in plastic bags by volunteers and distributed to the students on Fridays to take home.

See our data sheet to learn more: