Our News

Generous Donations

We’re thrilled to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Three Rivers Casino$15,000, Florence Elks $3,000, and Windermere $500, for their recent donation to Food Backpack for Kids. We appreciate their generosity and support as we strive to empower young minds and ensure access to nutritious meals for children in need. Thank you for your valuable contribution towards building a stronger, healthier community.

December 2022

Come have some family fun and see Santa and the Grinch. Any donations given go to Food Backpack for Kids to feed hungry children here in Florence and Mapleton. Can’t make it and still want to learn more or donate, go to www.foodbackpackforkids.com/giving

March 2022

Thank you Florence Elks for the donation of $2500 to Food Backpack for Kids.

March 2022

Thank you Windermere for the donation of $550 to Food Backpack for Kids

The Florence Windermere Realty team chose Food Backpack for Kids’ Cargo Van project to donate $933.33 to. Thank you!

Look for Food Backpack for Kids Cargo Van in a neighborhood near you! It’s also parked in the Cross Road Assembly parking lot when not in use delivering food bags to schools or delivering food from local stores to our storage room at Cross Road.

The Siuslaw Elementary School KINDNESS CLUB had a Food Backpack for Kids (FB4K)Fund Raiser on July 20th at the annual Power of Florence event with a Lemonade and Cookie Stand.

Kindness Club student Volunteers, Talia Rose, Melody, and their sponsors, raised $409.30 for the FB4K program!!! ( every hard earned penny will be spent on food!)

FB4K began in 2012 when a small group of church women heard that a local young boy was so hungry on a school year weekend, that he climbed into a dumpster by a restaurant for something to eat!

The women talked to the Siuslaw Elementary School Principal who confirmed that so many students left school every Friday knowing there would be little or nothing to eat at home.

He shared that some kids would place leftover food scraps…uneaten each Friday in the cafeteria…in their backpacks on Fridays…only to return to school Monday so hungry they couldn’t focus on learning.

So the women researched, planned, organized and in October of 2012 implemented the Food Backpack for Kids Program. They delivered individual, nutritional, shelf stable, easily opened foods in plastic bags to the school staff.

Each Friday a school staff member discreetly placed the food bags in the 20 most at risk of weekend hunger kid’s backpacks.

The number of kids in need was so much greater…closer to 70 in Florence and 25 in Mapleton.

Soon the women’s meager money would be spent, so they began to let our local residents know how much our kids needed their support.

Since then…individuals, churches, organizations,

businesses and even young people…like the Kindness Club Kids…have worked hard to donate so every dollar can be spent on food for the kids.

As a result….

Our local community fed 72 students in Florence and 20 in Mapleton during the 2019/2019 school year on weekends!

THANK YOU…everyone with special kudos to the kids in the KINDNESS CLUB from all the devoted Food Backpack for Kids Volunteers!

On Friday, March 07, 2019 the Food Backpack for Kids Endowment was established! Western Lane Community Foundation (WLCF) will our manage our endowment.

WLCF is a perfect fit for us…… both the Foundation and FB4K are birthed right here in Florence!

Our program director Marilyn Barba recently gave an interview to KXCR radio in Florence which aired on August 20th 2018. Have a listen to this wonderful and touching interview to learn more about exactly what our program is about.