Volunteers fight child hunger one backpack at a time

Because hunger does not take a break on weekends, Georgetown Backpack Buddies volunteers spend weekdays making sure children have meals after the school week is over.

“It’s why we do what we do,” said Bob Kostka, Backpack Buddies president. “Our goal is that students will come to school on Monday mornings nourished and ready to learn.”

Georgetown Backpack Buddies delivers packaged food each Friday to every Georgetown school. Food-stuffed plastic bags are given to children to stash in their backpacks and take home.

A typical meal pack includes two breakfasts and two lunches — milk, cereal, oatmeal, an entree, canned vegetables, fruit and a snack. Food packs cost $4.17 to make, Mr. Kostka said.

“Hunger exists in Georgetown and we’re supplementing families’ weekend food supply,” he said.

Children must be enrolled in the free and reduced-price meal program to be eligible for a weekend bag. An estimated 800 students — of the more than 4,800 Georgetown children eligible to participate — are being served currently. The group hopes to expand to 1,200 students by the end of the school year.

Mr. Kostka said Backpack Buddies participation dropped last year because fewer children were enrolled in the free and reduced- price meal program. The federal government paid for all school meals last year, eliminating the need to enroll.

That support has ended, however, and Mr. Kostka said student participation in the Backpack Buddies program is increasing.

Founded in 2009, Backpack Buddies began as a Georgetown Ministerial Alliance project. A pilot program served 48 students at Williams Elementary School.

“The Alliance recognized that many children were going hungry over the weekend and arriving at school on Monday unable to concentrate on their schoolwork,” Mr. Kostka said.

The pilot’s success led to Georgetown Backpack Buddies’ creation as a nonprofit organization that has grown to serve children at all GISD campuses.

The program is volunteer run and most are members of area churches. Volunteers donate more than 5,000 hours annually, Mr. Kostka said. Work includes purchasing food in bulk and transporting it to Old Carver Elementary, where the program operates.

Each Wednesday and Thursday, volunteers pack food items into bags and deliver them to schools for students to take home Friday.

Mr. Kostka said that during the Covid pandemic — when students were learning remotely — the program partnered with GISD’s transportation department to deliver food packs to homes.

Georgetown Backpack Buddies has an almost $149,000 budget. Major donors are the Georgetown Health Foundation, the City of Georgetown, Seeds of Strength, Central Texas Food Bank and Anna+ Anton Olson Legacy Fund. Georgetown churches and individuals also donate.

More than 90 percent of the program’s operating budget goes to food purchases, Mr. Kostka said.

Looking ahead, Mr. Kostka said challenges facing the program include GISD enrollment and campus growth, the impact of rising inflation on the families they serve, reduced government stimulus funding and a return to normalcy as Covid-19 impacts continue to diminish.

More information about Georgetown Backpack Buddies can be found at https://georgetownbackpackbuddies. org. Mr. Kostka said donations can also be made online.