From school to home: backpacks fill the hunger gap

Across the U.S., millions of children rely on school meals as a vital source of daily nutrition. But when the weekend arrives, many families face the difficult reality of not having enough food at home.

To help fill the gap, thousands of children across Northern Illinois head home from school with more than just homework. Every Friday, they carry backpacks filled with food to help them and their families over the weekend.

This is the heart of the BackPack Program, an important initiative from Northern Illinois Food Bank that partners with 190 schools across nine counties. Each backpack contains shelf-stable meals to support a child and up to three family members through the weekend or school holidays. Children are identified for the program by school staff based on signs of chronic hunger or family need.

The program is entirely funded through private donations, and Abbott and Abbott Fund are proud to directly support the BackPack Program to provide backpacks, meals and more to families in need. At a recent event, Abbott employee volunteers packed backpacks, and Abbott Fund provided a new grant of $250,000 to support the BackPack Program across the region.

This support comes at a critical time. In Northern Illinois, one in nine children faces food insecurity—a 32% increase since 2019. For many families, school is the only reliable source of daily nutrition, and weekends can bring uncertainty and stress.

“No child should have to worry about their next meal,” said Melissa Brotz, President of Abbott Fund and Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and External Affairs, Abbott. “Nutrition is foundational to health, and we’re proud to help make a difference in our communities.”

For over 20 years, Abbott and Abbott Fund have partnered with Northern Illinois Food Bank to help ensure that people have access to the nourishment they need to live fuller, healthier lives.

This work is part of a broader effort by Abbott and Abbott Fund to support access to healthy food. To date, Abbott Fund has provided more than $5 million in support for BackPack Programs. And since 2002, Abbott has donated more than $142 million in nutritional products to Feeding America to help food banks across the country.

Whether through donations, volunteering or raising awareness, we believe everyone can play a role in helping children and families live healthier, better lives. We encourage others to step up and help. To learn more or get involved, visit solvehungertoday.org.