The Weekend Snack Pack Program

Because Hunger Doesn’t Take the Weekend Off!

Many children who receive free or reduced priced school meals are left without adequate nutrition on the weekend and holiday breaks.

The Center for Food Action’s Weekend Snack Pack Program (WSPP) is designed to fill this gap by providing healthy, kid-friendly, and easy to prepare snack foods to children at risk of hunger. The sealed snack packs will be discreetly distributed by the teachers one weekend a month.

By hosting a WSPP food drive and/or collecting WSPP funds, you will help CFA increase the number of weekends that healthy snacks will be sent home, as well as expand the number of schools that participate in this important program to help the children in Bergen County who are at risk of hunger.

Background:

The concept of a snack pack program originated over 10 years ago when a school nurse noticed that some of the students were arriving to school on Monday mornings with headaches, dizziness, stomach aches and fatigue.  She noticed that these were the same students who were receiving free or reduced lunches.  The nurse reached out to a local food pantry to organize a way to provide these students with nutritious weekend snacks. 

Today there are currently 118 Feeding America Groups across the United States facilitating more than 2,200 Snack Pack Programs that serve more than 90,000 children each year. 

Program: 

• The snack packs will be delivered to Grieco Elementary School in Englewood, NJ on Friday mornings by CFA.

• The teachers will discreetly place the snack packs into the student’s backpack when they are out of the classroom. Special emphasis will always be placed upon privacy.

Volunteer Are Essential to the Success of the Weekend Snack Pack Program:

The WSPP is part of CFA’s effort to reduce childhood hunger in our neighborhoods.  CFA is reaching out for support from community groups, schools, businesses, foundations and faith based organizations. 

Groups are needed to collect, sort and package the child friendly items to be put in the snack packs.  There are volunteer opportunities for hands-on work and financial support.  A group can contribute by helping with any, or all, of the following steps that, when completed, provide a child with healthy weekend snacks.

How Individuals and Groups Can Help

For approximately $4.25 you can send a child home with
one weekend’s worth of healthy snack foods.
For $21.25 you can help 5 children
For $42.50 you can help 10 children
For $212.50 you can help 50 children
For $425.00 you can help 100 children

There are 20,061 children in Bergen County who
participate in the free or reduced-price school lunch
program. Your donations will directly affect the number
of children CFA’sWeekend Snack Pack Program can help.

Here’s How to Get Started:

•Decide how many children your group would like to help
and how often your group would like to do so.

•Organize a weekend snack pack food drive to collect the
specific food items (listed below) that make up the
snack packs or organize a fundraising event to collect the
money needed to purchase the specific food items. A
weekend snack pack food drive flyer is available with the
specific food items needed.

•Select a location where your group can package the
weekend snack packs into 1 gallon size plastic zip storage
bags. Insert a parental snack pack information sheet into
each package. Sheets will be provided by CFA.

•Contact CFA’s Irwin Vogelman at 201-321-3142 to arrange a delivery or pick-up time.

•PLEASE REGISTER your food or fund drive by emailing
Jennifer Rothman, at jrothman@cfanj.org, your name,
contact information, food drive date, and the number of
weekend snack packs you plan to prepare. Questions
about the program are also welcome! You will receive a
reply with materials that will help make your weekend
snack pack food drive a huge success!

ping List for 1 Weekend Snack Pack

One Snack Pack Includes the Following Items:

BEFORE COLLECTING AND PACKING,

PLEASE CONTACT JENNIFER ROTHMAN at jrothman@cfanj.org

• 2% milk box, 8 ounces, non-flavored, shelf stable
• Cold cereal, 1 ounce individual serving size box, no chocolate or nuts
• Hot oatmeal, single serving packet, plain or maple sugar flavored
• Fruit cup, 4 ounces, peaches or applesauce
• 100% Juice box, 6.75 ounces, apple preferred
• Chicken with rice, 7.25 ounces, microwaveable bowl, Chef Boyardee or similar
• Macaroni and cheese, 3/4 cup, microwaveable packet, Kraft Easy Mac or similar
• Fruit snack bar, 1.3 ounce, apple flavor, no chocolate or nuts

CFA is a 501 C 3, non-profit, non-sectarian emergency services and homelessness prevention agency.  This year CFA will have distributed nearly $3 million worth of food.  That’s nearly 50,000 emergency food packages.  CFA will have also provided over 1200 people with rental and utility assistance. The Executive Director of CFA is Patricia Espy

For more information about the Weekend Snack Pack Program, please contact:

Jennifer Rothman, CFA Director of Communications & Volunteers

jrothman@cfanj.org, 201-569-1804 x28