“Nourishing the Body That Nourishes the Mind”

by Joyce Mills

The backpack food program discreetly provides nutritious, child-friendly, easy to prepare food to 17 chronically hungry children in everyday backpacks to take home over the weekends and out of school time.

What a wonderful program for children which

  • Provides nutrition
  • Eases their anxieties
  • Reduces absenteeism
  • Improves attention span
  • Raises academic performance
  • Increases self esteem

There are several ways that you can help us.  We can always use donated food. For the month of October you are asked to bring cans of soup, especially Chicken Noodle and Tomato.  You can also donate money to help buy food.

You can volunteer to fill backpacks on Wednesday at 5:00pm.  You could volunteer to pick up our food orders from the Mountaineer Foodbank at the drop-off point.   You could pick up the backpacks at Beckley Elementary and bring them back to the church on Wednesday morning for a month.

We have 27 people who do specific jobs for the backpack ministry.  There are many of you who give money very faithfully each month.  Of course, there are many of you who also purchase food each month.  We always need Peanut Butter because each child gets two jars each month to go with the fresh loaf of bread provided each week.

The foods must be kid-friendly, shelf stable, easy-to-prepare, and nutritionally sound, so it is important for us to choose the foods wisely that will make up the backpacks each week.  Thanks to you who have joined the fight to feed hungry kids and we invite others to join us .