Blessings in a Backpack Brings Nutrition to Waukesha County Children
No child should go hungry. That’s the goal for a Waukesha County organization as the pandemic has shifted school dynamics and finances for families. They are trying to reach kids to provide them with nutrients to help grow and learn.
Nancy Major, the managing director of Waukesha County Blessings in a Backpack, takes us through the prep warehouse.
“We are currently feeding about 2,200 kids a week so that is a drop in the bucket really compared to the need,” Major said.
Which, for children 17 and under, is staggering in Waukesha County alone. There are an estimated 15,000 children in the county.
“The number has shot up due to covid, extensively,” Major said.
The non-profit Waukesha affiliate has now been named Blessings in a Backpack’s 5th national chapter as it tries to bridge the weekend gap. Normally, volunteers would distribute at schools but the pandemic has changed things dramatically.
“The schools are really struggling with making sure the kids are getting the food and how are they going to get the food,” she said. “We have schools that are doing the hybrid, some kids are virtual and some are on-site. We are feeding the kids on-site and we opened a grab-and-go with the schools.”
Relying solely on fundraising and volunteers as families help families.
“There are people who care and want you to know support is here resources are here don’t give up hope, Major said.
On Tuesday, a special packing event will be held in Sussex to help feed kids for Thanksgiving.
It costs Waukesha’s Blessings in a Backpack about $300,000-$350,000 a year to run the program and it breaks down to about $130 a year to feed each child for the weekend during the school year.