One in four children in Southeast North Carolina faces hunger. Children who are hungry are more likely to become sick, have poor attendance at school, underperform academically, and have behavioral issues. The Second Harvest Food Bank partners with local schools and community partners to distribute food to children in need.

The “Hunger Relief for Kids” Backpack program provides end-of-week meals for students who may not have nutritious foods to eat outside of their school system. Each “backpack” contains protein, vegetable, fruit, and grain options for children in easily accessible packaging. Through the backpack program, we are able to provide thousands of meals to students in our service area annually.

The school pantry program allows adolescent students to “shop” for themselves and their families from a variety of food, hygiene items, and other necessities. This program provides nutritious foods in easy-to-prepare formats for students who may have limited cooking skills and allow students to provide for nutritional needs of their families.