Union County Friday Backpack Program

Union County Friday Backpack was started in September 2008 by Carlene Crampton and Barbara Hicks, along with a small group of volunteers who were interested in curbing hunger in Union County elementary schools. They began providing weekend food packs to 10 children at Island City Elementary. By January 2009, the volunteer force had grown, community support had increased, and food insecure children at all 9 public grade schools in Union County were being supplied with supplemental food packs for the weekends. As of May 2020 the number of bags distributed has risen to 230 per week, for a total of 5,975 bags for the 2019-2020 school year. Despite the challenges brought forth by Covid-19, the volunteers of Friday Backpack are dedicated to continue to provide bags to hungry children in Union County.