The Richland Wilkin Emergency Food Pantry (RWEFP) is fighting food insecurity in schools with their Food for Kids Backpack Program.
The Backpack Program’s mission is to provide a bag of food to any K-5th grade student in Richland or Wilkin county that is at risk for being hungry over the weekend.
At the end of each week, RWEFP will take the bags that volunteers have helped pack with food, and bring them to the schools, where they’ll be distributed to the students requested.
Each bag is packed with about ten items of food, at an average monetary value of $5 per bag.
The program was started by United Way in 2012, and was taken over by RWEFP over five years ago.
Sharon Bladow, RWEFP Coordinator, says that over the last few years, the number of requests has been stagnant, until this year, when they hit their record high,
“In December, our numbers went up to 382. Last year, when the school year ended, we were at 340. Right now, we’re at 371, consistently higher than anytime last year.”
Bladow says the Backpack Program is worked by volunteers, and is almost entirely funded by donations, with the exception of an occasional grant.
One of the biggest contributors is the Community Choir and Orchestra Christmas Cantata.
This year, the Cantata raised $10,000 for the Backpack Program, which was given to RWEFP earlier this month.
Bladow says that for the three years she’s been the coordinator at RWEFP, the Cantata has donated between $9,000 and $11,000 every year, and in total they’ve donated $62,000 for the program since it began.
The donation is a huge boost to the program, and will be able to fund over a month’s worth of packs for students.
The record amounts of food requests the RWEFP have received is happening amid Minnesota’s record breaking year for food shelves.
Angelica Klebsch with Second Harvest Heartland says Minnesota food shelves saw over seven million visits in 2023, which was two million more than the amount seen in 2022, and she expects 2024 to be another record year.
Bladow says, “It’s a lot of products that move through here every week. It’s amazing to see the supply and in a matter of two weeks, it’s dwindled down.”
If you’d like to donate to the Richland Wilkin Backpack Program, you can send a check to 699 8th Avenue South, Wahpeton, ND, 58075, or click here to visit their Facebook page.