Sioux Falls, SD:� South Dakota's public schools provide free or reduced meals to children at risk of hunger through the National School Lunch Program. The program effectively combats hunger during the school week, but it does not address the needs of children when school is not in session. This is where Feeding America and Feeding South Dakota fill an important void with the national BackPack Program.
This program provides at-risk children with nutritious, easy-to-prepare foods during weekends and holidays when school is not in session. Food is distributed through the schools because of their relationship with students, easy access and safe environments. Feeding South Dakota distributes 3,700 packages of food each week to children in the Sioux Falls school district and nine surrounding communities. Through this program, over 5,500 children are given a greater opportunity to learn and grow.
Unfortunately, the demand for these Backpacks of food exceeds the supply, and many children in need continue to go hungry on the weekends.� Because of this, the Sioux Valley Chapter of Credit Unions decided to raise funds for this cause with their annual golf tournament that was held last summer.� Over 80 golfers participated in the tournament and the resulting $8,000 in funds raised provided 53 local students with a backpack of food every weekend for the entire school year.
"Our credit union chapter has supported the Feeding South Dakota Backpack Program over the last several years" says Sioux Valley Chapter President, Randy Van De Vendel.� "We are excited to be able to work cooperatively to raise awareness and ensure children of our area do not go hungry," he added.
The Sioux Valley Chapter of Credit Unions was established to help local credit unions cooperatively work together on projects in our community, provide industry education and training sessions, as well as networking opportunities.
