Food Programs for School Children
Texas and New Mexico Weekend Food Programs Directory
Snack Pak 4 Kids Programs
Snack Pak 4 Kids - Amarillo^1
- Geography Covered: Texas Panhandle - multiple school districts in Amarillo and surrounding communities
- Website: www.sp4k.org
- Notes: The original Snack Pak 4 Kids program founded in 2010. Serves thousands of K-8 students with brand new, brand-name food distributed every Friday. Also operates Snack Shak program for high schools, which is student-led and allows anonymous access.
Snack Pak 4 Kids - San Antonio^2
- Geography Covered: Bexar County - 6 school districts, 54+ schools
- Website: www.sp4ksa.org
- Notes: Established in 2012, serves over 4,000 students weekly. Maintains commitment that 100% of donations go directly to purchasing food. Serves students identified by teachers as food-insecure with weekend food packages.
Standalone Community Programs
Backpack Friends^3
- Geography Covered: Central Texas - Pflugerville ISD, Round Rock ISD, Austin ISD, Georgetown, Bastrop, Midway ISD, San Antonio area (100+ schools)
- Website: www.backpackfriends.com
- Notes: Founded in 2014, has delivered over 185,000 weekend food kits. Provides food from Friday through Monday for children in participating schools.
Ancora Ministries - Feed Kids Right Now^4
- Geography Covered: Central Texas - 4 school districts, 39 schools (Hays CISD, Dripping Springs ISD)
- Website: www.ancoraministries.org/our-impact-in-texas
- Notes: Feeds 800+ children weekly with backpacks containing 5 meals plus snacks. Provided nearly 120,000 meals last year with plans to increase by 25% or more.
Georgetown Backpack Buddies^5
- Geography Covered: Georgetown ISD, Williamson County
- Website: www.georgetownbackpackbuddies.org
- Notes: Provides weekend food packs and summer food assistance to food-insecure children eligible for free/reduced lunch programs.
Common Ground Mansfield - Weekend Backpack Program^6
- Geography Covered: Mansfield ISD - 23 schools
- Website: www.commongroundmansfield.org/programs/weekend-backpacks
- Notes: Operating since 2009, runs for 36 weeks during school year. Volunteers pack 400+ bags weekly containing two breakfasts, snacks, and lunches.
Hungry Souls^7
- Geography Covered: Central Texas communities
- Website: www.hungry-souls.org
- Notes: Unique model providing each family a Crockpot, healthy recipes, and all ingredients needed for weekend meals. Addresses family food insecurity holistically.
Lovepacs^8
- Geography Covered: 18 communities in North Texas, 270+ schools
- Website: www.lovepacs.org
- Notes: Focuses on extended school breaks and holidays when regular backpack programs may not provide enough food. Serves 8,100+ kids each holiday; provided 3.5 million meals since 2011.
VISTO - Backpack Buddies^9
- Geography Covered: Cooke County - 15 schools
- Website: www.vistohelps.com/backpack-buddies
- Notes: Provided meals to 974 children in 2023 with help of 35+ volunteers. Delivers two days worth of meals to address county's 20% poverty rate.
Blessings in a Backpack^10
- Geography Covered: Multiple Texas and New Mexico locations (part of 1,200+ nationwide programs)
- Website: www.blessingsinabackpack.org
- Notes: National network with local chapters throughout Texas and New Mexico. Provided over 3 million hunger-free weekends in 2023-2024 school year. $175 feeds one child for entire school year.
Food 4 Kids NM (by 3HO of New Mexico)^11
- Geography Covered: Santa Fe and Rio Arriba County - 12 schools
- Website: www.food4kidsnm.org
- Notes: Operating since 2009, serves 533 students with weekend food bags. Volunteer-run and donation-supported addressing New Mexico's #2 ranking in child hunger.
Ruidoso Food 4 Kids - BackPack Meals Program^12
- Geography Covered: Lincoln County elementary schools
- Website: www.lincolncountyfood4kids.org
- Notes: Established in 2010, provides discreet weekend and holiday food packages distributed Friday afternoons tucked into students' backpacks.
Weekend Hunger Initiative (WHI)^14
- Geography Covered: Hobbs ISD - Lea County, New Mexico
- Website: www.whihobbs.com
- Notes: Serves nearly 1,200 students every Friday. Addresses Lea County's 23% child food insecurity rate with centralized referral system and backpack packing location.
Food Bank-Housed Programs
Houston Food Bank - Backpack Buddy Program^15
- Geography Covered: 18 Southeast Texas counties (Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Harris, Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker, Waller)
- Website: www.houstonfoodbank.org/our-programs/backpack-buddy
- Notes: Provides nutritious, child-friendly food for K-12 students to take home every Friday during school year. Addresses one in five Southeast Texas children being food insecure.
North Texas Food Bank - Food 4 Kids^17
- Geography Covered: 12 North Texas counties (Dallas, Collin, Fannin, Rockwall, Hunt, Grayson, Kaufman, Ellis, Navarro, Lamar, Delta, Hopkins)
- Website: www.ntfb.org/f4k
- Notes: Operates at 250+ schools serving up to 4,500 chronically hungry children each week. Distributed over 827,000 meals during 2023-2024 school year.
East Texas Food Bank - BackPack Program^19
- Geography Covered: 26 East Texas counties (Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Franklin, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Houston, Leon, Marion, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood)
- Website: www.easttexasfoodbank.org/programs/child-assistance/backpack-program
- Notes: Distributed 186,000+ backpacks to 8,800 children in 2024-2025 school year with fruit, juice, cereal bars, and shelf-stable milk for Friday through Monday.
San Antonio Food Bank - BackPack Program^20
- Geography Covered: Bexar County and 28 surrounding counties (Atascosa, Bandera, Coke, Comal, Concho, Crockett, Edwards, Frio, Guadalupe, Irion, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, McCulloch, Mason, Medina, Menard, Reagan, Real, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, Tom Green, Uvalde, Wilson, Zavala)
- Website: www.safoodbank.org
- Notes: Weekend food distribution program for food-insecure children identified by schools throughout extensive service area.
Southeast Texas Food Bank - Backpack Program^21
- Geography Covered: 8 Southeast Texas counties (Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, Tyler)
- Website: www.setxfoodbank.org/programs/backpack-program
- Notes: Serves 1,600+ children at 46 schools with discreetly distributed backpacks of child-friendly, nonperishable, easily-consumed food for weekends and holidays.
Food Bank of the Golden Crescent - Kids Weekend Meals^22
- Geography Covered: 11 Golden Crescent region counties (Calhoun, Colorado, DeWitt, Goliad, Gonzales, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Refugio, Victoria, Wharton)
- Website: www.tfbgc.org/kidsweekendmeals
- Notes: Provides kid-friendly, nonperishable food for weekends and holidays when Federal Free and Reduced Lunch programs are unavailable.
South Texas Food Bank - Backpack Program^24
- Geography Covered: 8 South Texas counties (Dimmit, Jim Hogg, Kinney, Maverick, Starr, Val Verde, Webb, Zapata)
- Website: www.southtexasfoodbank.org/backpack-program
- Notes: Provides 10 pounds of nutritious, non-perishable food including dry soup cups, fruit cups, granola bars, and single-serving items.
Brazos Valley Food Bank - BackPack Program^25
- Geography Covered: 6 Brazos Valley counties (Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison, Robertson, Washington)
- Website: www.bvfb.org/backpack-program
- Notes: Served 2,039 children with 53,395 backpacks at 41 partner schools in 2023-2024. Addresses that 1 in 4 Texas children in the Brazos Valley experience hunger.
Roadrunner Food Bank - Childhood Hunger Initiative^26
- Geography Covered: 16 New Mexico counties statewide (Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Sandoval, Sierra, Socorro, Torrance, Valencia)
- Website: www.rrfb.org/about-us/our-programs/childhood-hunger-initiative
- Notes: Comprehensive program including weekend backpacks, school pantries, and monthly mobile pantries serving entire families. Evolution from former Food For Kids program.
Echo Food Bank - Backpack for Kids^27
- Geography Covered: San Juan County schools (Farmington area)
- Website: www.echoinc.org/what-we-do/backpack-for-kids
- Notes: Backpacks filled with kid-friendly, easy-to-open food distributed through schools. $12 monthly fills a backpack; $100 sponsors a child for entire school year.
The Food Depot - Weekend Food Programs^28^30
- Geography Covered: 9 Northern New Mexico counties (Colfax, Harding, Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Taos, Union)
- Website: www.thefooddepot.org
- Notes: Partners with schools to provide weekend and holiday food assistance identified through school counselors, nurses, principals, and teachers.
Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico - Weekend Programs^31
- Geography Covered: 5 Eastern New Mexico counties (Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Quay, Roosevelt)
- Website: www.fbenm.org
- Notes: Partners with schools to address weekend hunger for food-insecure children throughout rural Eastern New Mexico.
The Community Pantry - Weekend Food Programs^33
- Geography Covered: Cibola and McKinley Counties
- Website: www.thecommunitypantry.org
- Notes: Provides food assistance to families and children including weekend food support in Gallup area.
Total Programs: 26 (18 in Texas, 8 in New Mexico)
These programs collectively address the critical need in both states: 1 in 4 Texas children lives in a household without enough food, and New Mexico ranks #2 in child hunger nationally. All programs focus on discreet distribution through schools to protect children's dignity while ensuring they have nutritious food when school meals are unavailable during weekends, holidays, and school breaks.^23^11^17
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