Volunteers Pack Backpacks For Chronically Hungry Oklahoma Kids

The backpack program helps feed thousands of chronically hungry students across Oklahoma. But they wouldn't get that food without the help from volunteers.

"It is a humbling experience," said Matthew Peppers a volunteer who works for Chesapeake Energy. The company encourages each employee to spend four hours per year giving back to the community.

Peppers was among more than a dozen of his co-workers from Chesapeake Energy as they stepped away from the corporate world to give back.

"It's great to be able to get out and do something together as a team outside of the office," said Ashley Barnett, another volunteer from Chesapeake.

They met at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma's Volunteer Center to pack food for the non-profit's Backpack Program.

"It's really fun because we get to cut up and get to know each other on a personal level," said Barnett. "We're just having a really good time."

The volunteers fill the food bags that will go inside the backpacks with approximately 10 different nutritious kid-friendly foods. The food is then distributed to more than 500 schools across the state for chronically hungry students to take home and eat over the weekend.

"It's a pretty powerful thing, putting together these backpacks for these children to take home for the weekend," said Peppers. "It gives a great sense of purpose for the work that we're doing."

Thousands of volunteers pack approximately two million meals for the backpack program each year, which in turn feeds around 18,500 students in Oklahoma.

"It makes my heart so full to know, and I wish I could almost meet the kids but I'm just so grateful again that we're able to do that and encouraged to do it,"

A $200 donation provides a backpack of food for one child for an entire school year. If you are interested in starting the Food for Kids Backpack Program at your school or have a question about the program, please email backpackprogram@regionalfoodbank.org or call 405-604-7103.