THE EDMONSON VOICE
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
    • VOICE Calendar >
      • About VOICE Calendar
    • County Schools Calendar
  • Obits
  • Sports
    • WildcatsLive/Schedules
    • Recorded Game Videos
  • Weather
  • Features
    • Recipe Of The Week
    • Opinion
    • Ask Mongoose
    • Arts/Entertainment
    • Legal/Professional Policy
    • Our Staff
    • Contest Rules
    • Our Sponsors
  • FAQs
Picture
Picture
Picture
Edmonson County's Number One Source For Local News and Information

Backpack Program Executive Director Is Edmonson Native: Encourages Support For Program

8/7/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Edmonson County native Jamie Sizemore, Feeding America Executive Director.
submitted by Edmonson County native Jamie Sizemore, Feeding America Executive Director:
As the month of August begins, so does another school year. New clothes and shoes are a must, as well as a book bag filled with the necessary school supplies. School children, all decked out with their new things, look forward to seeing classmates after the long summer break.

Unfortunately, though, there will be a group of kids, at each school, in every grade, who will look forward to having a constant supply of adequate food every school week in their book bag. 

One in five children who live in central, south central, and western Kentucky are food insecure, meaning they may not know where their next meal will come from. Those who attend school have breakfast and lunch covered, but when Friday rolls around, anxiety sets in.

For that one child, it’s not what time will we eat over the weekend, but will there be enough food in the house, if any, to eat.

To help alleviate food insecurity in children, school professionals and guardians turn to Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland (FAKH) for the BackPack Program. Through this program, pre-packed bags of 12-15 kid-friendly, single serve food items are discretely placed in the child’s backpack on the last day of the school week, with the goal to help and feed the child over the weekend. 

The food items, such as shelf-stable milk, cereal, tuna, vegetables, beef ravioli, peanut butter, oatmeal, granola bars, fruit cups, macaroni and cheese, raisins, and more, often make the difference in the long hours of a weekend for a child. Each one of the bags only costs $3 to fill and distribute, $120 per child ensures their nutritional needs for the 40 full weeks of school. 

Now in its 13th year, the FAKH BackPack Program was created to help alleviate childhood hunger across rural Kentucky. During the 2018-19 school year, the program served over 5,500 children each week in 34 counties, including Edmonson County.

Together, school nutrition programs and the BackPack Program continue to bridge the gap between hunger and a child’s stability. For the one out of five children in rural Kentucky, the programs make all the difference in how the child will develop and learn. 

For more information about the BackPack Program, or to sponsor a child in Edmonson County for this school year, visit www.feedingamericaky.org, call 270-769-6997 or toll free 877-532-2767. 

Jamie Sizemore is the Executive Director for Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland, which provides hunger-relief programs in 42 central, southcentral, and western Kentucky counties. She can be reached at 270-769-6997 ext. 103, toll free 877-532-2767, or www.feedingamericaky.org.

Note: the thoughts and opinions expressed by Edmonson Voice guest columnists and authors of submitted articles are their own, not necessarily those of EdmonsonVoice.com ​
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    COMMENTING/LEGAL
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
HOME
NEWS 
COMMUNITY


OBITS
FEATURES
WEATHER
​​
WILDCATS LIVE
​
SPORTS
CONTACT
copyright 2014-2023 The Edmonson Voice.
Call or text: 270-597-6550 ​editor@edmonsonvoice.com
PO BOX 94
BROWNSVILLE, KY 42210
CLICK HERE FOR DEADLINE INFO
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
    • VOICE Calendar >
      • About VOICE Calendar
    • County Schools Calendar
  • Obits
  • Sports
    • WildcatsLive/Schedules
    • Recorded Game Videos
  • Weather
  • Features
    • Recipe Of The Week
    • Opinion
    • Ask Mongoose
    • Arts/Entertainment
    • Legal/Professional Policy
    • Our Staff
    • Contest Rules
    • Our Sponsors
  • FAQs