Backpack Buddies working to provide weekend meals to food-insecure children across metro Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Each month, Atlanta News First donates to an organization serving the community as part of our Three Degree Guarantee program.

The amount of money we donate depends on the accuracy of the First Alert Weather Team. The donation is then matched by our partners at Coolray.

For December, we are highlighting the work “Backpack Buddies,” an organization making sure no child goes hungry on the weekend.

“I hate to be cliche, but it really does take a village,” Jonathan Halitsky, director of operations, said. “So, we are just one organization, we rely on our partnerships and other organizations as well.”

Backpack Buddies of Metro Atlanta (BPBMA) partners with religious and civic organizations — called Community Buddies — to provide nutritious food to children in need. Each Community Buddy “adopts” a nearby school, delivering pre-packed food containing six meals provided by BPBMA to ensure students have meals over the weekend.

“Today is a day where we are preparing those orders, the buddies are picking them up, making sure it gets packed, delivered to a school, and handed to a child very discreetly to protect their dignity before they get on the bus go home,” Halitsky said.

In 2022, the nonprofit fed 800 kids weekly.

Three years later, “Backpack Buddies” now serves thousands of children across metro Atlanta area schools.

“Of the children that we serve, they are food insecure,” Halitsky said. “That means they are relying very heavily on free reduced breakfast and lunch at school, but when the weekend comes around, they are not sure where their next meal will come from.”

However, that’s where a backpack buddy steps in.

“By providing a weekend meal bag, of shelf staple food, for breakfast lunch and dinner for Saturday and for Sunday, to make sure these children are fed and nourished so when they return to school on Monday, they are full of energy and ready to learn and reach their full potential,” Halitsky said.

As Backpack Buddies continues to grow, Halitsky said so does the need to combat food insecurity.

Now more than ever, the team is ready to step up to the plate.

“I just remember one child, toward the end of last school year at a school we had just started serving, said to the driver, please don’t forget us next year, Halitsky said. ”Really portraying the fact that they rely on and appreciate that food so much that when they return to school in the fall they want that service to continue."

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