JONESBORO, Ark, October 12, 2023: The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas received $25,962 from Nestlé USA to support children at risk of hunger through its Backpack Program.
The mission of the Backpack Program is to meet the needs of hungry children by providing them with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school holidays when other resources are not available. Research shows children who don’t get enough to eat are more likely to repeat a grade in elementary school, suffer developmental impairments in language and motor skills, and have more social and behavioral problems.
According to Christie Jordan, CEO of the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, the organization currently serves 1,017 children in 30 schools in Northeast Arkansas. However, there are approximately 20,960 children in the Food Bank’s twelve-county service area living in food insecurity.
“We know children cannot focus on learning when they are hungry,” Jordan said. “We are so
thankful for Nestlé USA and their support. This grant will help us provide food to children at risk of hunger, so they won’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from over the
weekends in the upcoming school year.”
In the Food Bank’s service area, 1 in 5 children is food insecure, meaning they lack regular and easy access to safe, nutritionally adequate food.
About Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas:
The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas provides hunger relief to people in need by raising awareness, securing resources, and distributing food through a network of non-profit agencies and programs. The Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas provides the equivalent of 132,000 meals each week to people facing hunger. The Food Bank works in partnership with 180 non-profit partner agencies and programs in 12 counties in Northeast Arkansas. These counties include: Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, St. Francis, and Woodruff. Additionally, the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas is a member of Feeding America, a national network of food banks. Through our many partnerships, every $1 donated can help provide 3.5 meals. For additional information, please visit our website www.foodbankofnea.org. You can also find the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas on Facebook @FoodBankofNEA, Twitter @foodbankofnea, and Instagram @foodbankofnea.