Backpack Program

You Can Help by Supporting the Hallsville ISD Nutritional Backpacks for Kids Project

The Hallsville ISD Nutritional Backpacks for Kids Project provides nutritional meals and snacks on weekends and holidays for children whose primary source of food is the school cafeteria. Each child receives a backpack filled with easy to prepare nutritional food every Friday afternoon. The cost to fill a child’s backpack with food every Friday during the school year is approximately $200 per child. This is a small price to pay to meet the nutritional, mental, and physical needs of a child, and the benefits to that child’s well-being and self worth are enormous. The success seen by participants in programs like this across the country is astonishing! Documentation and feedback from Hallsville ISD Administrative staff, faculty, parents, and children themselves shows a clear, distinct improvement in areas like behavior, academics, social interaction, well-being, and attention span. With this project we hope to reach children throughout the community and establish an effective outreach program to enrich the lives of children in need.

The students who participate in the program are identified by campus counselors and teachers. Staff members are provided information to help them identify children who are “chronically hungry”. After a student is identified, counselors contact the child and the family to explain the program and gain permission for participation. Every attempt is made to be sure that other children living in the home are included in the program. The names of all participants are maintained in a confidential manner. Counselors meet privately with students and explain the details of the program, including how and where to pick up their backpack inserts each Friday.

Bags to be inserted into the child’s backpack are distributed once a week (usually on Friday afternoon) and sent home with participating students. Extra food is included on weeks that include a holiday or extended weekend.

$200 per year will ensure that one child has food in his backpack every weekend and on holidays during the school year. Your donation will make a tremendous difference in the life of a Hallsville ISD student. Hallsville ISD employees can opt to use Payroll Deduction and have their donation taken from their paycheck monthly.

The success of this project depends on contributions received from the Hallsville ISD community. Hallsville ISD Backpack Program is a totally self-sufficient, community-supported program because of the generous contributions of our community. We are truly blessed to live in a community as loving and as supportive as Hallsville, Texas and the surrounding area. Thank you very much for your continued support of this program.

Amy Whittle
Director of Special Programs
Hallsville ISD