During the 2012-2013 school year, over 130 students were provided with 6 nutritious meals and 2 snacks each weekend. The Backpack Program began with one elementary school feeding ten students, and was initially funded by one church in Portage. During the 2013-14 school year, all eleven Portage Township School buildings will be providing bags filled with these meals each weekend.
Students are currently being enrolled in this program at each school building. This is made possible through the generosity of the Portage Community. Portage Backpack has sponsors including individuals, churches, businesses, the Portage Chamber of Commerce, the City of Portage, and the Portage Township Schools. This is a unique partnership, and one we are very proud of. We continue to advertise this program and to seek additional sponsorships because it is critical to the health and well-being of our children.
What does it cost to feed a child? One child receives a weekly bag of food every Friday for 30 weeks at a cost of $200. Over 3500 bags of food were distributed during 2012-13 at a cost of nearly $25,000. The Portage Backpack Steering Committee has set a lofty fund raising goal for 2013-14.
Please consider how you or your organization might be able to help feed one or more children. Our mission is to ensure that no child goes hungry. We are extremely grateful for those business partners who supported this program last year; the difference you made was significant. We hope each of you will consider sponsoring one or more children for this school year.
Sponsorship forms are available at all school buildings, or the Portage Chamber of Commerce. All sponsorships are tax deductible, and checks are made payable to The Food Bank of NWI. Please submit sponsorships with sponsorship cards. Every dollar collected is used to purchase food for these children. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Terry Hufford at the Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at (219) 762-3300.