Union County Friday Backpack (UCFBP) is a 501(c)(3)located in La Grande, Oregon whose mission is to help ensure that elementary school children in the county don't go hungry on the weekends when they may not have access to food through school breakfasts or lunches. According to oregonhunger.org Oregon now has the 12th highest rate of hunger, the highest in the Northwest, and "Rural communities are seeing continual rise in rates of food insecurity and hunger". The cities within Union County, La Grande, Island City, Elgin, Imbler, Cove, Union and North Powder, average around 60% of school aged children who receive free or reduced priced breakfasts or lunches at school. Many of these same children, due to circumstances out of their control, may not always have access to food when they are not at school. UCFBP volunteers meet weekly during the school year to prepare food bags to be distributed to elementary schools within the county. Each school determines which children they believe are in need of supplemental weekend food and they distribute the packs to those children.
Sample weekend food pack