K-M School District to kick off Food for Friends program

What may look like a normal backpack is actually a bag that provides nutrition, eases anxiety, improves attention span, raises academic performance and increases self-esteem. 

The Kasson-Mantorville School District will officially launch its Food for Friends Backpack Program on Oct. 9. The program  provides nutritious, child-friendly, easy-to-prepare food to chronically hungry children over the weekend, when they may not have access to food. 

“How can we not give our young learners an opportunity to be successful? Hunger affects their physical and mental development and so it affects their academic achievement and future success,” said school board member Angie Richards, who is one of the program’s organizers. “For those children that are affected by hunger, the backpacks represent the opportunity to learn, grow and dream about their futures and doesn’t every child in our community deserve that?”