“We believe strongly in making sure that kids have food on the weekends,” said NACE executive director Susan Diersen.
NACE works with several local schools. Families sign up for this program through their school, NACE volunteers pack the bags, and then someone from the school picks up the bags and gets the food into the student’s locker.
The food is specifically chosen to be kid friendly- not just in the flavors, but also by being easy to prepare. Single serve entrees or ready-to eat snacks make up the majority of the bag.
“Because of that, this is an expensive program for us. The items that we put in the pack are not items we can buy at a reduced rate through the food bank,” said Diersen. “Each bag costs about $8. We’re doing $8 bags for about 220 students.”
It costs NACE more than $1,700 per week during the school year. The program survives on fundraising, donations, and volunteers.
The weekend pack program began in 2019, and has grown from 40 bags per week to over 200.
