Children in the Backpack Buddies program, receiving fresh fruits and vegetables to help provide healthy meals over the weekend.

On a special day in December, children in a number of elementary schools in St. Clair County, Alabama received fresh fruits and vegetables from the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. The food bank received the apples and 18,000 pounds of sweet potatoes from the Society of St. Andrew. The food was distributed to 3,600 qualified students and families in the county.

This was a service of Backpack Buddies, a national program that provides children from food-insecure homes with healthy weekend meals during the school year. The children, selected by school principals and guidance counselors, receive a backpack containing six balanced meals and four healthy snacks at the end of every week.

The mother of one of the children said, “Thank you. I happened to be up at the school delivering some goodies to my daughter’s teachers and I was able to see the pure excitement in the kids going to pick up their sack of potatoes. It was awesome!”