Monday through Friday, far too many children in the St. Louis area rely on subsidized meal programs at school to provide them with their only reliable food for the day. On the weekends, these children are often hungry, not knowing where the next meal will come from. Through our “Project Backpack”, Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis (MCGSL) provides food for 30 students each school year weekend. This year we will team with the Urban League of Metropolitan St Louis, to have this food distributed to those most needing it at 10 city schools.

Almost all of the 1500 children in these schools qualify for subsidized meal support. The particularly heartbreaking fact is that some are in “transitional living situations” – or more plainly: homeless. These children often move during the week with their parents (or without) from one relative’s home to another, stay in shelters or live in cars.

To deliver on our weekly pledge to these 30 children, we need food in single serving packages such as:

• Cans of ravioli or spaghetti

• Macaroni and Cheese

• Tuna or Chicken Salad-to-Go

• Peanut Butter (small PLASTIC jars)

• Vienna sausages

• Individual juice boxes

• Peanut butter crackers

• Cups of pudding, applesauce or fruit

• Hearty soup

• Individual raisin boxes

• Animal crackers

• Granola or cereal bars

• Other ideas for nutritious, but easily portable meal items

• PLEASE DO NOT DONATE CANNED VEGETABLES or ITEMS IN GLASS CONTAINERS FOR THIS PROJECT!

Cash donations are welcome, so that we can purchase items that we know are needed. Consider Sponsoring a Child! $10/week; $40/mo; $360/year.

If you send a check, or donate on line please indicate “Project Backpack” on the subject line!

Volunteers are needed: We need volunteers to pack the food each week (before church), AND volunteers to deliver the bags of food during the week to the Urban League offices at 2125 Bissell in North St Louis.

Please consider how you can help with this much-needed project! For more information or to volunteer, call or text Deborah Sheperis, MCCGSL Outreach Coordinator, at 415 630 3418.