The cost for the food packets is $4.53 per student each week.

The Food for Backpacks program has grown to include preschool, elementary and middle school students across the Albert Lea School District.

Each backpack is filled with a food packet for the weekend, to feed one person. The packets include 2 breakfasts, 2 snacks and 2 dinners. Meal preparation is very minimal and the foods are healthy.

This program is entirely funded by donations and grants. So every gift matters, no matter the size.

Working with our partner churches, we are asking individuals, area businesses and service groups for financial support. Any donation would be so welcomed.

We are blessed by the opportunity to address the issue of hunger right here in our own community.

In listening to the neighborhood needs, the LEAD team (Living Everyday As Disciples) at Grace Lutheran Church in Albert Lea, MN discovered that just across the street at Hawthorne Elementary School there were children who were in need of food for the weekend. They were coming to school on Monday, hungry and not having the attentive energy to learn. The church community at Grace began to sponsor a weekend Food for Backpacks program for 33 students. After asking for approval from the school district and with the help of the school social worker, packets of nutritious basic food were delivered and confidentially given to the needy students on Fridays. These packets included 2 breakfasts, 2 snacks and 2 dinners. Preparation was very minimal and the foods were healthy.

We had an overwhelming positive response to this program. Social workers from other schools asked if the program could be expanded to their schools as well. Grace Lutheran organized a community of churches meeting, resulting in a very positive response. Church sponsors are now in place for all four elementary schools, an area preschool and Southwest Middle School. It is so exciting as we see the Holy Spirit at work right here in Albert Lea.

Today, funded by donations and grants, the Food for Backpacks program feeds more than 560 children (or more than 25% of the student body in preschool - 7th grade) in the Albert Lea School District each week.