Lehighton Area School District’s “Backpack Buddies” program got a financial boost recently from the local Giant Food Store.

Lehighton Giant representatives including store manager Michelle Rex stopped by the district last Friday afternoon to present a check for $7,344.59, which will go toward a weekly distribution of food and other items such as toiletries for students.

The district launched the program in 2019 to help provide food insecure students with meals over the weekend when school was not in session.

“This is extremely important because we realize that we have children in our own community that go hungry, and we don’t want that to happen,” Rex said. “So as we continue to work with the district, we want to make sure that the children’s nutritional needs are met. We’re proud to be a partner with the district and look forward to continuing that.”

The money distributed by Giant comes from local customers who round up their grocery bill total at checkout. Giant had raised $4 million companywide to help address childhood hunger.

“Partnering with Giant has been fantastic in the sense that we can now pick out the foods that we send home with students,” Rebecca Karpowicz, district business affairs and human resources coordinator, said.

Karpowicz has spearheaded the program for Lehighton since it began.

“We take into consideration safety and how much cooking would have to be done,” Karpowicz said. “Students no longer have to use a stove or an oven to make these items. We try to pack things that are microwaveable or self-sustainable.”

Classroom teachers, guidance counselors, social workers and even the district’s school police officers are involved in assessing who they feel is a chronically hungry student. A candidate for the Backpack Buddies program, Karpowicz said, might be a student who comes in Monday morning and they’re starving or asking for a snack or seconds if they’re getting a breakfast at school.

“We do ask parents if they want their child to take part in the program,” she said. “It’s very discreet. I don’t even know who is on the list, I just know that we service around 70 students weekly and that’s how many bags we pack.”

Lehighton students also assist packing bags, which normally always include a meat, vegetable, breakfast foods and a treat. Toiletry items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes and shampoo are also often included. Guidance counselors then ensure the bags get to the children in the program.

“We’re hearing from the guidance counselors at the elementary school that the children love what they are receiving,” Karpowicz said.

In the past, Lehighton school district officials have delivered bags to the students’ homes over the summer. The summer bags, Karpowicz said, are normally bigger since students are not coming into the district to eat meals on a regular basis.

This is the second straight year Giant has financially supported the Backpack Buddies program. Rex said the company matched the first $250,000 rounded up by customers.

“It’s incredible to think we’re in our fourth year,” Karpowicz said. “Every January and February it’s a little touch and go on whether we’re going to be able to sustain this, but Giant coming through and partnering with us has made such a difference.”