Every Friday during the school year, the Kansas Food Bank provides backpacks of food for children who don’t get enough to eat at home on the weekends. From July 9^th through August 5^th, Pizza Hut & Taco Bell restaurants will ask customers to donate $1 to become a “Child Hunger Hero” and help fill backpacks for these children for the 2012-2013 school year.

If a child does not get enough food outside of school he or she is considered food insecure.  Kansas has over 158,000 food insecure children.  For children who participate in the program come notable differences:  grades improve, behavioral problems diminish, attendance at school is better – truancy dissolves, students are ready and prepared to learn on Monday mornings and overall attitude towards school improves immensely.

These are students who before receiving the backpack of weekend food were children who were often the most at risk.  They came to school hungry, their focus at the start of the week is “when is lunch”.   Receiving the backpack of food helped them to be able to concentrate on class, improve their learning skills and propel their education forward.

Currently, the Food-4-Kid’s Backpack Program is serving over 6,500 kids across Kansas alone.

Each backpack contains food the kids can just open and eat.  For example, there may be peanut butter, pudding cups, fruit cups, cereal, beef jerky, raisins, milk and a juice box in the backpack.  Each food bag costs roughly $4 to make and lasts the child for the weekend.

If you would like to help chronically hungry children in the Kansas Food Bank service area,  go to your local Pizza Hut or Taco Bell to donate from July 9^th through August 5^th and become a Child Hunger Hero!