Backpack Impact is dedicated to supporting children in the Wentzville School District who experience food insecurity. Many students rely on school meals during the week, but when school is closed, they may not have access to enough food. Backpack Impact helps fill that gap by providing easy to prepare food items to sustain children through the weekend, ensuring they return to school ready to learn.
Our partnership with our neighbor, Prairie View Elementary, started with 28 kids in 2015. Today, we partner with six schools including Prairie View, Barfield Early Education, Discovery Ridge, Lakeview, Frontier Middle and Liberty High, helping over 200 children a week.
The kids we pack for are identified as food-challenged by the counselors at each school. The counselor reaches out to the family and they can "opt in" to the Backpack Impact program offered by Morning Star Church.
If you'd like to help provide meals for children through Backpack Impact, please visit out Amazon Wish List to have food items sent directly to the program!
If you prefer to shop and bring the food to Morning Star Church, items can be dropped off at any time in one of the purple bins, or on Sunday mornings in the church lobby. Here is a list of items we accept:
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Peanut Butter (regular sized PLASTIC jars)
- Jelly ( yep, just plastic )
- Soup (kidfriendly flavors and regular sized cans)
- Canned Spaghetti w/Meatballs or Spaghettio’s
- Canned Ravioli
- Beef-A-Roni/Beef Stew
- Chili
- Individual Sized Breakfast Cereal
- Individual Packets of Oatmeal
- Vegetable Cups or Small Cans of Corn
- Carrots and Green Beans
- Breakfast Bars
- Fruit Cups (Peaches, Oranges, Fruit Cocktail, Pears)
- Individually Packaged Snacks (Crackers, Fruit Snacks, etc)
- Granola Bars
- Juice Boxes
- Hot Chocolate
- Ramen Noodles
VOLUNTEER
We welcome people of all ages to volunteer with Backpack Impact! You can help once or twice a month, or whenever your schedule allows. Typically, we pack every other week during the school year, usually on Wednesday evenings. We sometimes need volunteers to sort food, check expiration dates, and shelve donations. Please let us know you're interested in volunteering by completing the Volunteer Form below - we so look forward to hearing from you!