AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Blessings in a Backpack prepares food packages for Avondale School District students who receive free and reduced lunch to take home over the weekend.
Thus far, the program has provided food to 350 student in need who “would go hungry otherwise,” said Janelle Tischer, chair of Blessing in a Backpack Avondale.
“We bridge the gap from Friday through Monday so the kids don’t have to worry about where their food is coming from,” Tischer said.
A team of volunteers fill bags with meals for students and drop them off at the schools where they are put in students’ backpacks anonymously.
“It’s important to me to make a difference in our community,” Tischer said. “It’s a message we want to convey to my children as well as other kids in the district that you really can make a difference and a little goes a long way.”
The non-profit depends on food donations to keep the program running. It’s currently low on supply as the organization awaits its next food donation.
Blessings in a Backpack gets a semi-truck full of food from Meijer every month, but it also depends on donations of both food and time from volunteers.
To donate or volunteer with Blessings in a Backpack, visit the organization’s website.