The KidsPack Program

HRDC believes nobody should go to bed hungry.
The Healthy KidsPack Program strives to alleviate childhood hunger by providing nutritionally balanced, kid-friendly foods to area elementary students every Friday during the school year.
Healthy KidsPack is offered and accessible to every elementary school student regardless of income.  Providing this resource ensures that all kids have access to well-balanced weekend nutrition during the school year.
Instead of overlapping with the efforts of area food banks, the KidsPack program meets the food needs of children who might otherwise go hungry over the weekends.
The Need
The KidsPack Program reaches as many as 900 children each week in 26 schools throughout Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Counties. There are more than 3,000 school-aged children in Gallatin County alone who are eligible for free or reduced priced meals. Their goal is to assist all area children in getting access to wholesome foods throughout the week.
Program Impact
There are multiple benefits for participating student’s well-being including:

• Better relationships with school staff and/or other students,
• Feeling more secure
• More interest and investment in school
• Fewer behavior problems due to increased good health

Additionally, schools report participating students demonstrate a better and more trusting relationship with school personnel and/or other students. Because the educational environment improves as behavioral problems within a classroom community declines, many of these benefits could be affecting all the students in the classroom and not just the children participating in the program.