The Salvation Army La Porte Backpack Program Impact
LA Porte's Backpack Food For Kids Program- Provides school-aged children in most of LaPorte County with bagged meals for kids to take home on Fridays during the school year. Made possible through partnership with the Healthcare Foundation and United Way of Laporte. Serves 11 schools, totaling 750 kids, with four meals per bag every week. Volunteers are from local Catholic parishes, Sterno Delivery, Salvation Army members, and the Advisory Board.
“The weekend backpack ministry meets a real need without judgement.” said Keith, one of La Porte’s loyal backpack program volunteers.
Because of the hard work of 8-10 volunteers each week, the Salvation Army gets to distribute over 700 backpacks to children in need across 13 schools in La Porte County. The backpack program encourages better school attendance on Mondays and Fridays because the food gives kids and families an extra reason to be at school on those days. Each backpack provides 6 nutritious meals for children whose families cannot afford to feed them over the weekend when they do not get to receive school lunches.
The school board sees the impact of this backpack program every week in their vulnerable children. A member of the school board administration explained “The Salvation Army Backpack Program is a crucial resource for La Porte students and their families. This program guarantees that our students have access to nutritious food over the weekend, supporting their well-being and readiness to learn. We are sincerely grateful for the Salvation Army's dedication to caring for our community and helping our students thrive in and out of the classroom."
The children across La Porte County would not be able to receive these backpacks without the generous donations of time, food, and money made by the community. You can support this program too. Donate Today
