Port Townsend Kiwanis Backpacks for Children
Project: Weekend meals and snacks for students facing food insecurity
Request: $15,000
Port Townsend Kiwanis Backpacks for Children provides weekend meals and snacks for students in Port Townsend schools who are living with food insecurity.
The need is significant. Nearly 55% of students in grades K–8 in the Port Townsend School District live in low-income situations, according to state free and reduced lunch data — 54% at Blue Heron Middle School and 53% at Salish Coast Elementary.
In the 2025–26 school year, the program served children at Salish Coast Elementary, Blue Heron Middle School and OCEAN School, filling 3,377 bags with over 20,000 meals and snacks. More than 160 students received weekend food across the school year.
How students are identified — and why that matters
School counselors identify students, both through Free and Reduced Lunch forms and through their own personal knowledge of the children in their schools. That second route catches families who never filled out the paperwork, and it means the program reaches kids that a form alone would miss. The distribution is discreet, which matters enormously at these ages.
What this does for a child and a family
UNICEF research on undernutrition finds that children from food-insecure homes are often shorter than average for their age or significantly underweight, and may experience learning disabilities and other cognitive impairments.
With weekend food secured, students come back better able to concentrate — leading to more engagement in learning, greater self-confidence, higher grades, and a greater likelihood of graduation and post-secondary success. And parents who cannot consistently put food on the table over the weekend gain the peace of mind of knowing their children are being fed and cared for by the community.
Here are the problems you can help solve
First, the number of students identified as needing weekend food keeps increasing. Second, the cost of purchasing food keeps rising; most of what fills the bags must be bought in bulk, and only some is donated. Third, fundraising proceeds are limited because the community is dealing with its own budget constraints. Fourth, larger private donations have declined.
Total cost in 2025–26 was $25,054, and both costs and student numbers are expected to increase for 2026–27. UGN/Give Jefferson funds provided 27% of the project's revenue last year and allowed it to finish the school year and start the next one stocked.
The program also coordinates with the YMCA of Jefferson County, which covers food for students during extended school breaks, so the two efforts don't overlap or leave gaps.
What your donation makes possible
Funds are used only for food items for the weekend meal bags and the ziplock bags for snack packs. The budget doesn't cover storage, transportation, staffing or anything else — because there is no staff. This is a volunteer project of the Port Townsend Kiwanis club.
Your gift means Kiwanis can carry the project through the end of the school year without draining funds from its other projects for local children and youth.
