LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A local nonprofit that sends food home with students is supporting children as families struggle with the rising costs of food due to inflation.
Blessings in a Backpack fed more than 6,600 Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) students this year, which is around 1,000 more students than last year and a record number for the organization.
Blessings in a Backpack serves 53 JCPS schools. Students in low-income families receive a backpack full of food over the weekend to ensure they have food while they aren't in school.
"The food that we send home is critical in enabling these children to come back to school on Monday focused, ready to learn, behaved," said Kim Holsclaw with Blessings in a Backpack. "It's all a trickle down effect. If you're hungry, nothing else matters."
Everything sent home is shelf stable, easy to open and doesn't require the use of an appliance. Students were given extra food to last them through the holiday break last Friday.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, around 64,000 students qualified for the program. That number has risen to almost 80,000 students locally now.
The nonprofit said the best way to support is through monetary donation. About $130 can feed a child for the entire year.Â
To learn more about Blessings in a Backpack or to donate, click here.
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