By Kalin Krohe, Panhandle Post
The Bulldog Backpack Program is the recipient of $1,500 from United Way’s Week of Caring.
For the past five years, United Way volunteers have gathered each October to package meals consisting of oatmeal, apple and cinnamon cereal, as well as macaroni and cheese packets. The pre-packaged meals were then distributed to various organizations in the community.
One of the recipients has been the Alliance Bulldog Backpack Program.
This year, because of the pandemic, United Way sought an alternative to the meals and reached out to the Day of Caring sponsors to transition to a Week of Caring focusing on food insecurity.
During the Week of Caring, United Way granted Visa gift cards to food service organization to be used to purchase food for local food insecure families.
Sponsors of United Way’s Week of Caring include: Wells Fargo, United Healthcare, Bob Schmidt Foundation and Farm Credit Services of America.
The grant funds will enable the Alliance Bulldog Backpack Program to purchase food to send home on the weekend to hungry children.
The students are identified by the Alliance Public School counselors and receive bags of food to take home on the last day of the school week.