The BackPack Program is Windber Kitchen’s newest initiative. This program helps to ensure that children in need have balanced, nutritious food they need to learn and grow. The concept is simple: children at risk of weekend hunger receive a bag of food that is child-friendly, nutritious, nonperishable, and easy to prepare/eat.
The Windber Area Community Kitchen is working in collaboration with the the Windber Area Elementary School to present the WACKPack Program to the 2015-2016 Academic Year. According to the PA Department of Education National Lunch Program (2014-2015); nearly 50% of Windber’s Elementary children and 45% of Windber’s Middle and High School children suffer from economic poverty.
Although these children are offered school meals at a free or reduced rate and community based meals are available, many suffer from hunger throughout weekends as proper nutrition is out of reach and scarce.
Our Mission is to help alleviate child hunger by providing for low income children who are at-risk of missing meals over the weekend or extended holiday weekends; nutritional, non-perishable food items while they are attending school.
Our Vision is to promote awareness of child hunger in the Windber area and bring an end to child hunger, educate others about our missions and, through networking; collaborate with organizations and members of the community who share in our mission.