T he C ampus K itchen at Washington a nd L ee h as r eceived a $5,000 “Nourishing Our Neighbors” grant from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation. The grant, designed to help feed neighbors in need, supports community feeding partners as they tackle food insecurity and promote healthier lifestyles through nutritional education initiatives. The grant will support the ongoing efforts of the Campus Kitchen Backpack Program to assist families in Rockbridge County.
“With food insecurity rates rising in our area and household budgets becoming increasingly strained, the format of the Backpack Program provides a convenient and reliable support system to families in and around Rockbridge County,” said Ryan Brink, Campus Kitchen coordinator. “The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the university’s Campus Kitchen Backpack Program, and we are incredibly grateful for their continued support.”
The Campus Kitchen Backpack Program was established in 2009 to address the meal gap experienced by children receiving free and reduced lunch in schools throughout Rockbridge County and provides weekly packages of nonperishable breakfast, lunch and snack items to registered children at area schools. The funding from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation will go toward the purchase of food for this program, which currently delivers 650 backpacks each week to preschoolers, elementary school students and middle school students in the local school districts.
