Backpack Program Provides Food for Ogallala Elementary Students

By: Maaika and Jenna

Pete Peterson is one of the many hardworking Local Anonymous Extraordinaries in our community working hard to make a difference. Pete Peterson is one of the many people volunteering to help with the Backpack Program that goes on in Ogallala.

The Backpack Program is a program that gets food to children over the weekend who don’t have enough food to eat during that period of time. While kids are out to recess, the secretaries of schools slip bags filled with food into kids’ backpacks for the weekend. The bags are filled with a variety of items that allow kids to get the needed nutrients over the weekends. This week's menu included two individual sized boxes of cereal, an individual fruit cup and applesauce, milk that does not need to be refrigerated, two small boxes of juice, and chili and lasagna which change every week.

Pete Peterson is part of the Missions Committee, which leads the Backpack Program in Ogallala. Other Missions Committee members are Kandy Adams, Jerri Cole, Pastor Laurie, Mike Keith, Bev Pollock, and Kathy Sizer. The committee is currently serving 13 elementary students and their siblings right here in Ogallala. Pete says the two most rewarding things about helping is that he knows he’s helping kids get food and how willing people are to help and donate towards the program. The program rarely has to ask for contributions because of how willing people are to donate. “That’s the easiest part, getting people to donate,” stated Pete Peterson. The program in Ogallala has $4,728.08 in the bank currently from donations and has to pay $1,280.00 for food costs per year. The Missions Committee has been participating in this program for about two years now.

One of the things that inspired Pete to help with the Backpack Program was knowing that some kids were not getting enough to eat on the weekends. Pete thinks that we should always be watching for people in need and to make sure that we help others. There is only a small number of people that know who these children are. Pete said that we don’t need to know who these kids are; the important part is that we are helping them. That is one of the great things about the Backpack Program. The kids cannot be made fun of because nobody really knows what kids are getting food. The Missions Committee thought that getting enough money for this program would be overwhelming. With help from community members and groups, this project has really taken off and is self-sufficient for the time being. Pete says future hopes for the project are to extend it to the middle school and possible high school students too. “There’s not enough food for a middle school or high school student now” says Pete Peterson.