Food Bank of Northwest Indiana Receives Grant from Red Nose Day to Support Children in America at Risk of Hunger

The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana announced that it has received a $10,000 grant from the Red Nose Day Fund, which will be used to support children at risk of hunger through its BackPack Program. This latest contribution from Red Nose Day will impact children across Northwest Indiana who receive weekend meal assistance through the program.

Thousands of kids and teens across Lake and Porter counties rely on free and reduced price meals during the school days—and for many of these young people, those are often the only meals they’re guaranteed to have. So when weekends and holiday breaks come along, many of these children can’t count on that daily nutrition to give them the energy they need.

The BackPack Program works to bridge that meal gap for students by ensuring they have access to enough good, nutritious food for the weekend. Before every weekend or holiday break during the school year, students will receive a bag of snacks and meals for the weekend, including kid-friendly foods like single serve cereal packs and shelf stable milk, fruit cups, microwave pasta, healthy snacks, and other safe, easy-to-make options

“The BackPack Program does a great job of providing that immediate nutrition assistance to kids who are struggling with hunger at home,” said Steve Beekman, executive director of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. “We are fortunate to have support through Red Nose Day, which helps us ensure children have the nutrition they need to thrive.”

Since launching in the US in 2015, over $4.5 million of Red Nose Day funds have been allocated to Feeding America to support child hunger initiatives. Funds go to all partner organizations in the national Feeding America network, which spans every county in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

According to the USDA, one in six children in the US is food insecure, meaning that 13 million children lack regular and easy access to safe, nutritionally adequate food. In Northwest Indiana more than 30,000 children—or one in five –is food insecure.

To learn more about Feeding America and hunger in your community, please visit foodbanknwi.org or FeedingAmerica.org.