Food Bank of Central and Eastern North CarolinaY Guides and the Backpack programHow How: Looking for an awesome service project for your tribe? You’ve found it! Why? Because this is a service project by kids and for kids! And we’ve made it easy for you to organize and participate. We are working hard to make sure that that this will be the most rewarding service project that your tribe does this year! The problem: Kids going hungry right in our backyard! 
It is unbelievable, but there are hundreds of kids in Wake County and the surrounding areas that get
their only decent meals at school. Many of them literally come to school hungry, eat a federally
subsidized school breakfast and lunch, and then don’t eat again until the next day. These are kids
that live in households that are in crisis. Mom may have a drug problem. Dad may not be around
anymore. Or maybe the family is intact but with the recent loss of a job there is just not enough
money to make ends meet. The stories will break your heart especially when you think about the
many blessings that we and our little Braves and Princesses have. But there is at least one way we
can help these kids. We want to make sure that they have something to eat on the weekends and during
the summer!
The solution: The Backpack Program and the Y Guides Program The Food Bank has developed a program that is intended to meet the nutritional needs of children and their families during non-school hours, especially weekends. The program seeks to meet the needs of hungry children by providing them with nutritious and easy to prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available. Food items that we donate are placed in backpacks by volunteers and delivered to schools, churches and daycare centers for distribution to kids in need. Y Guides is 11,000 strong and we can make a big dent in this problem. But there are lots of kids \ in need, and they need help every week. We need every tribe to participate at least once a year! Six Easy Steps to a Great Service Project -- This is a no brainer! 1. Talk about this project with your tribe. You can read or distribute the information above. Get everyone excited about the need to help these kids. 2. Choose a service project leader (s). 3. Call or email Lee Cheney at the Food Bank (919)865-3024 to schedule an appointment. Do this soon so that you have the date on the calendar. 4. Assign each member of the tribe to buy a quantity of the items shown below in the “Shopping List” section. Most tribes choose to assign each member the purchase of 50-100 individual items each (see below). 5. Send an email asking Big Braves and Guides/ Princesses to go shopping together sometime before your tribe’s visit. (You do not need to shop as a tribe.) We’ve even drafted an email for you below! 6. Show up at the Food Bank for your visit. It will only take an hour, generally on Saturday but other times are available. Shopping List -- What types of food items should be purchased for this program? 
Kid-friendly, nutritious, cost effective, nonperishable foods with limited or no preparation. A
typical pack will contain:
- A protein (such as beans, soup, beef stew, peanut butter and/or soup [please, no tuna]) - Vegetables (such as canned spinach, string beans, etc.) - Canned fruits (such as peaches, pears, pineapples, etc.) - Miscellaneous items (such as individual wrapped fruit juice, crackers, Multigrain bars, individual boxes of cereal, pudding cups, etc.) The most needed items are individual size: 
Spaghetti & Meatballs / Ravioli / Beef-a-roni / Lasagna
Soup Fruit cups Cereal Boxes 100% Fruit Juice large or small foil/paper cartons Pop Tarts Pudding Cups Fruit Bars Animal/Graham Crackers Raisins Trail Mix Individually Wrapped Snacks Please, no tuna The Visit - What will it be like? The Food Bank distribution center is located just off Wake Forest Rd. near the Beltline (directions are below). Your tribe will show up at the scheduled time and meet with a capable volunteer. Your visit will last approx. 1 hour, although there are occasionally delays when there are multiple groups at the facility. You will: 1. Carry your food in from the cars as a tribe 2. Hear a brief welcome talk and weigh your donation upon arrival 3. Cart your donated food back to a special area used to coordinate the Backpack for Kids program 4. Take a Tribe photo next to your donated food (please bring your own camera); Food Bank will provide a sign for the background. 5. Hear a 5 -10 minute talk on the importance of the Backpack for Kids program from our volunteer or staff member. 6. Sort your donations into boxes so that program volunteers can easily pack the Backpacks for Kids units for distribution later that week. 7. See a sample backpack. 8. Take a facility tour and learn about the other cool things that the Food Bank does. 9. Earn a patch. 10. Reinforce what a good thing the Tribe has done to help hungry kids and say a big thanks to the Food Back volunteers and staff! Pre-drafted email to tribe assigning purchase of food and setting up the day How How: We are excited as a tribe to participate in the Backpack for Kids program at the Food Bank. As we discussed, we would like to bring as much as we can to the Food Bank with us and we need to coordinate our purchases. We would recommend that you shop at a warehouse club such as Costco, BJ’s or Sam’s to minimize the expense. As a tribe, we agreed to purchase {100} of each item (each item being an individual item such as a small box of cereal or can of soup, not the whole package). Tribe member | Item | Quantity As we discussed in our meeting, some of these items are more expensive than others. Please feel free to reduce the quantity of the item that you bring (No one will think anything about it - just do what you can). We will be visiting the Food Bank on {Day, Month Date} at _____{AM/PM}. Please bring your item and meet us there promptly at our assigned time. We will be given a tour, and possibly even put to work sorting items for the Backpack Program. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions. How How! {Your name} Directions to the Food Bank - From 440 (inner beltline): Take the Wake Forest Road exit 10 (north). At the bottom of the ramp, turn left (north). Turn right onto St. Albans. Turn right onto Tarheel Drive. The Food Bank is on the left. - From 440 (outer beltline): Take the Wake Forest Road exit 10 (north). At the bottom of the ramp, turn right (north). Turn right onto St. Albans. Turn right onto Tarheel Drive. The Food Bank is on the left. - From Atlantic Avenue (from downtown): Proceed north under the beltline. Turn left at the light onto Wolfpack Lane. Cross over the railroad tracks and the next right is Tarheel Drive. (Street may not be marked). The Food Bank is on the right. - From Atlantic Avenue (from North Raleigh): Follow Atlantic Avenue past Fed Ex, UPS and through the New Hope Church Road intersection. At the first intersection after Boy Scouts of America, turn right onto Wolfpack (no road sign), then go across the railroad tracks and turn right onto Tarheel Drive. The FBNC is about a half mile on the right. - From Highway 1 (Capital Blvd): Coming from the north, turn right onto Highwood Blvd. This becomes Wolfpack Lane after crossing Atlantic Avenue. Turn right on Tarheel Drive, which is the first right after the railroad tracks. Food Bank will be on the right. For more information... For more information contact the Raleigh Volunteer Coordinator, Lee Cheney at (919)865-3024 or email. picture taken in front of the new mural painted by Dawn Privette. 
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For every dollar donated, the Food Bank can provide $8.00 worth of food or 4 meals
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