Cultivate Food Rescue

The Backpack Program provides weekend meals to students in local public schools in three counties in northern Indiana. For a child who struggles with food insecurity, sometimes the best meals they eat all week happen at school. While at home the pantry is empty and the fridge is bare, they can count on a good meal, or sometimes two, during the school day. While local schools do an excellent job at helping these kids during the school week, what happens when they go home for the weekends and come back on Monday?
Cultivate Food Rescue rescues food that has been prepared but not yet served from local dining halls, catering companies, and other businesses, including some of the cafeterias of the schools whose students are participating in the backpack program. This rescued food is picked up by our truck drivers in refrigerated vehicles and brought to our facility, where our talented chef and dedicated volunteers create the frozen meals we send home with children in need each weekend. These meals nourish the children's bodies and provide them with balanced nutrition. This not only helps combat obesity but also sharpens their minds and energizes them so they are able to be physically and mentally present at school. The collective impact of this project will result in better attendance especially Fridays and Mondays.