Backpack Ministry

We are busy packing food bags for our Backpack Kids at Beckley Elementary School. Our pantry is well stocked and we constantly hunt for healthy food that is reasonably priced. Every week each child receives six meals, two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, a loaf of bread and a bag of snacks.

It won’t be long before we will be shopping for Christmas gifts for the children. A teacher helps each child fill out a wish list for Christmas gifts. We have $100.00 to spend for each child. First, we purchase the clothing needs on the list then buy toys they may want. It is surprising how many nice gifts our volunteers can buy by shopping for bargains.

If you would like to volunteer to shop for one of our children please contact me, Helen Greene, at 304-253-1069. We will start shopping in November.

Thanks to everyone who has donated food, money or prayers for our Backpack Ministry. May God Bless You!

For the month of October please donate hot chocolate packets.

School is in session again and soon we will be sending food bags to the students at Beckley Elementary School. We have been busy restocking our Backpack pantry. Food prices are constantly going up but we search for the lowest prices available.

God has blessed our Backpack Ministry from the start. After eight years we are still going strong. We have been able to supply weekend food for every student that has been referred to us.

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, food and prayed for our ministry. May God Bless each of you!

Currently we are shopping for our Backpack Ministry to restock our food pantry. This month we will receive an order from the Mountaineer Food Bank. That order consists of canned chunk chicken, macaroni and cheese dinners and breakfast cereals. The food bank prices are generally less than our local grocery stores but they don’t always offer products we can use.

A big “Thank You” to everyone who has given food, cash or prayers to our ministry. May God Bless You!

Please donate 16oz jars of peanut butter for the months of July and August.

Another school year is over and we are already shopping for the next school term. As food prices soar it is more difficult to find bargains but like everyone else we will pay what is necessary to buy the food for our backpack children.

This past year we have prepared approximately 350 food bags for our children. Each bag has food for two breakfast meals, two lunch meals, two dinner meals, a loaf of bread and a bag of snacks. That is a lot of food!

God has blessed this ministry from the beginning. Our congregation as well as friends have supported us with money and food donations every week. Thanks to each person who has helped in any way to support our Backpack Ministry. May God richly bless you! Please continue to pray that our children have a happy and safe summer.

For the month of June please donate 16oz jars of peanut butter.

by Helen Greene

Our Backpack Children will soon be on Summer Vacation. We have had a great school year providing our 25 children with tasty and nutritious meals for their weekends.

Our Backpack Team will spend the summer restocking our pantry with fresh food for the next school year. We have decided to ask our congregation for 16oz. jars of peanut butter to be donated for the months of May, June and July. We give a fresh loaf of bread to the children every week and peanut butter every other week. They should be able to make themselves a sandwich when they want one. You can leave your donations in the light blue container located in the Welcome Center.

Thanks to everyone who has donated food, money or prayed for our ministry. May God Bless each one of you!

Spring is here and it won’t be long before our Backpack Children will be on Spring Break. We always send additional food home for the children’s break but we are limited because of the extra weight the children will be carrying.

After they return from their break they have only five more weeks of school. I am sure they are looking forward to Summer Vacation. Hopefully the Board of Education will make arrangements for a Summer Feeding Program as they have the past few summers.

Thanks to everyone who has donated food or money for our ministry and especially for your prayers. May God Bless You!

For the month of April please donate instant oatmeal packs.

As winter drags on we are watching for robins to arrive. We have blessings of sunny warm days occasionally to keep us hopeful that spring will soon be here.

Our Backpack Ministry has received a wonderful financial blessing. Mountaineer Food Bank notified us that we could receive $5,000. from the “Cares Act”. After completing the necessary forms, the check was mailed to us. We are so pleased to receive such a “Shower of Blessings”!

Food prices have been skyrocketing and we were fearful that we might have to cut back on the amount of food we give our Backpack Kids. God has always blessed our Ministry and provided enough for us to send our children tasty and nutritious food.

Thanks to each one of you for your contributions of money, food and prayers. May God Bless You!

For the month of March please donate fruit cups. Donations can be left on the back counter in the kitchen.

February is thought of as the month of Love since Valentine’s Day is on the 14th. I want to thank each one of you that has supported our Backpack Ministry so that we may show love and kindness to all of our Backpack Children. You are so appreciated for your donations of food, money and prayers for these children.

I love every one of you for your generosity. May God Bless You!

For the month of February please donate tomato or chicken noodle soup.
Reminder – You can get soup at ALDI’S Store for about 50 cents a can.

Volunteers are busy shopping for our Backpack Children’s Christmas gifts. Each child has a wish list for the gifts they would like. Of course we can’t purchase everything they want but we try to get the most practical items we can afford. Often we buy clothing, coats or shoes for them. We will deliver the gifts to the school on December 13th for the parents or guardians to pick up before Christmas.

Thanks to anyone who has donated food, cash or prayed for our Backpack Children. May God Bless You.

For the month of December please donate applesauce cups.

Our Backpack Ministry is going smoothly and we are still adding children to our list. Weekly we send them two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, a fresh loaf of bread and a bag of snacks.

Last month we were blessed to receive some free food from Mountaineer Food Bank. We received some individual breakfast cereal packs, Hormel Complete Meals as well as juice boxes. I am sure the children will enjoy our bounty.

For the month of November we are asking for tomato and chicken noodle soup. I know these items have gone up in price to $1.00 or more per can. We have found soup at ALDIS store for about $.50 per can. The quality is good and the price is right!

Thanks to everyone who has donated money, food or prayed for our Backpack Ministry. May God bless each one of you!