SHANTANA’S STORY

“The kids are so excited and happy when they bring their backpacks home.”

Shantana lives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District and works hard to provide for her three children. Her kids qualify for free meals during the school day, but often she can’t afford to keep food on the table for them at home.

Without FOCUS Pittsburgh’s Backpack Feeding Program, supported by United Way’s fitUnited initiative, her kids would go hungry on the weekends. The program distributes backpacks, filled with enough food for six easy-to-prepare meals and several snacks, every Friday after school and at feeding sites during the summer. The need is great: in January 2016 alone, the program distributed 48,500 meals.

The backpacks, lovingly assembled by community volunteers, bring joy to Shantana and her children. “It’s like Christmas to them, and a blessing to me,” she says. “If it wasn’t for this program, my babies wouldn’t have enough to eat.”