Backpack Buddies: New ministry of Holy Nativity Church and School

By Madge Smith, Holy Nativity, Panama City
Submitted by Fr. Steve Bates, Rector

Holy Nativity Church and School, Panama City, have begun a new ministry that provides food for eligible children at a neighboring school. “Teachers in this public school had begun to notice that toward the end of the week, some of the children in their classes were saving food from their lunches,” according to Mike Dickey, Program Chairman. “Many were among the increasing number who participate in school funded breakfast and lunch programs at the school. School administrators feared that many of these children had nothing to eat on weekends.” Approximately 90 children in this school participate in the school’s free meal programs and to date 53 families have signed up for the Backpack Buddies ministry. Eligibility requires parent or guardian consent.

Each week, backpacks are filled with specific non-perishable food items. The backpacks are delivered to the school each Friday. They are retrieved on Mondays and filled again for the next Friday delivery. Dickey notes that the parish has been incredibly generous in supporting this ministry. “Some parishioners bring items on Sunday morning and place in a shopping cart by the front door. Others have agreed to sponsor a backpack, while others have made monetary donations. The children at Holy Nativity School bring one or more items as an offering for their Wednesday chapels with Father Steve. We have intentionally not publicized our partner school in an effort to model ‘anonymous’ giving and giving without recognition for our children.” As this ministry grows the parish is already discovering things that hadn’t been considered. “Some people have donated microwavable products,” Dickey said. “The school administrators told us that many of these children probably didn’t have microwaves. Also, we discovered that some may be homeless so cans with pull-tops were preferred to can requiring a can opener.”

For information on how you can start a similar ministry in your parish, contact Holy Nativity, Panama City.