HUDSON – The Hudson Community Food Pantry launched the Backpack Buddies program for this school year.
The program will provide weekend food kits to children in grades K-12 in the Hudson Public Schools.
The program is designed to ensure that children can access nonperishable and easy-to-prepare foods during weekends and holidays when school meals are not available. It aims to alleviate food insecurity and support the well-being of local children.
Hudson Food Pantry’s Jennifer Knutel said the program was inspired by Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz, a previous initiative for “tackling childhood hunger.”
She said, “When Kylee’s program concluded, it was picked up by Sasha Wood, who resuscitated the program and is currently leading the program.”
Wood, who previously managed Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz, serves on the food pantry’s board of directors and has been there since the Backpack Buddies began.
She said, “They brought me on to continue the program here [in Hudson] and just keep running it.”
While the program runs all year, there is an awareness period to include more eligible children in the Hudson school system, according to Knutel.
She said the process is straight-forward – high school students can have the options of pickup or biweekly home delivery.
Wood said during the school year, kits are delivered in kids’ backpacks every Friday, and during the summer, they are delivered to homes if there is an interest from families.
Knutel said, “Parents or guardians can enroll their children through a waiver form provided by the child’s school nurse or counselor. Once enrolled, kids receive discreetly packed food kits at school on Fridays.”
Wood said the school staff “identifies the need” and can send the waiver home with the kids. Once the waivers are signed, the students start receiving kits.
Knutel said that the importance of such a program is that “food insecurity can significantly impact children’s well-being.”
She said, “It can lead to hunger pangs, decreased concentration and lower academic performance. Food insecurity also creates stress for families struggling to put food on the table.”
Wood said food is essential to function in their daily lives. The kits provide extra food over the weekend, which is a service the pantry believes is important.
“We can make sure we’re filling that gap, where the schools are providing breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday with the free meals program,” said Wood.
The goal is, to “just to provide food for the kiddos who have a need so they can get through their weekends and come to school on Monday and not be famished,” said Wood.
She said they want kids to be able and ready to learn.
There are 80 participants, and last year, they had nearly 110 by the end of the school year.
Wood said, “We’re almost back to our full number from last year. We’re in the process of getting our waivers back from students.”
Knutel said members of the public can donate food items, contribute financially or volunteer to help assemble and distribute food kits if they wish to support Backpack Buddies. Visit the Hudson Food Pantry’s website at https://hudsoncommunityfoodpantry.org/, and click on the Backpack Buddies tab.
Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School students helped design the program logo. The pantry reached out to Assabet Valley, Knutel said, and it recognizes the students’ efforts to support the program.
She said that the more the pantry can reach out to community members who can help the program, the better. She believed it was important to get volunteers from the community involved.
She said, “It felt like a logical thing to reach out to them. It was nice to be able to rely on the resources in the community to support the kiddos we have in our community.”
The program’s future looks bright as Kylee’s Kare Kits for Kidz was successful in the past, and there is a “proven need in the Hudson community,” according to Knutel.
Wood said the goal is to keep the program running for as long as they can to support the kids who may need it.
She said, “We want them to arrive at school ready to go. Hopefully, we’re helping to fill that need.”
To learn more about Backpack Buddies or support the program, contact the Hudson Food Pantry at 978-562-5280 or email [email protected]. Interested volunteers can inquire at http://signup.com/go/GzkvzQR.
