KidsPak

Background Statement

In early 2009, a member of the Loveland Rotary Club in Colorado saw a national newscast about the explosion of weekend backpack food programs throughout the United States. Dismayed by the prevalence of hunger among school children, the member contacted the Thompson School District to find out if they had a similar assistance program. At that time, the Thompson School District served approximately 14,000 students, with nearly 5,000 families receiving free and reduced meal benefits, but no weekend hunger-relief program existed. Rotarians formed a committee to support food-insecure students in the district with weekend food bags and, after multiple meetings, Rotarians named the new program "KidsPak."

KidsPak met with administrators and nutrition experts from the school district to begin creating a healthy weekend food plan. Countless food experts told them that science had shown that a young body needs adequate and frequent food to be able learn and retain what has been learned. KidsPak's vision was for every student to be well fed and ready to learn when school resumed on Mondays, knowing that school meals would carry them through the rest of the week.

The initial plan was to provide weekend food bags for the last 8 weeks of the 2008-2009 school year. That semester, 3 elementary schools participated, serving 34 food-insecure students. KidsPak enlisted the district's registered dietitian for advice on the weekly menus and then purchased healthy items through the local food bank and Sam's Club. Each bag consistently provided over 55 grams of protein for the weekend.

KidsPak presented every teacher with a list of 17 criteria to help them evaluate a student for signs of hunger, including asking when the next snack will be served, having spoon-shaped fingernails, slow memory recall, or aggressive behavior. KidsPak's primary operating rule was to maintain student confidentiality, so the process was for school personnel to talk with and receive permission from parents or guardians to accept weekend food bags, which KidsPak delivered to the school for distribution to individual students.

As the fall of 2009 unfolded and resources were secured, KidsPak added more elementary schools to the program. Schools that had over half of their students qualifying for free and reduced numbers were the program's first priority. As the end of 2009 approached, KidsPak was sending out over 100 bags weekly to those schools. The local Rotary Foundation donated and Rotary District 5440 provided financial support to enable KidsPak to reach additional schools.

When KidsPak began, work took place in a small space in the House of Neighborly Service building. After 3 years, KidsPak was able to lease a larger space within the newly renovated Food Bank for Larimer County in Loveland and in 2021 moved into leased space at The Forge and separated from the Rotary to become its own nonprofit.

KidsPak operates without any paid staff, instead using only volunteers to fulfill the mission of providing supplemental weekend meals to food-insecure students across the Thompson School District, which provides education to students in an area of over 152 square miles-serving the cities of Loveland and Berthoud and the unincorporated areas of Larimer, Weld, and Boulder Counties.

According to Hunger Free Colorado, nearly 1 in 5 Colorado children may not know when or where they will receive their next meal. With food insecurity within our nation at an all-time high, KidsPak will continue to focus on supporting hungry students within the Thompson School District community.