CHILDHOOD HUNGER
Ending Hunger Together
Children don’t choose their circumstances and we feel no child should be hungry. Ending childhood hunger will always be a focus for us at the Great Plains Food Bank. While we serve children every day through each of our programs and services, we are proud to offer three specific programs designed to combat childhood hunger – backpack program, youth summer meals program and school pantry program.

Information compiled from comprehensive Hunger in North Dakota 2018 study and Great Plains Food Bank annual review of statistics.
What does a school pantry look like?
Offering a food pantry directly inside of a school allows students in need even greater access to food assistance. A school pantry can take many forms and sizes depending on the need of the school and the space available and contain many of the items you will find inside a traditional Great Plains Food Bank partner food pantry. Those items may include canned goods, cereals, pasta, personal items and frozen products.
What’s included with a youth summer meal?
• One cup of milk
• Two servings of fruit, juice and/or vegetables
• One serving of grains/bread
• One serving of meat/meat alternate
What’s in a backpack?
• Shelf stable juice
• Shelf stable milk
• Two breakfast items
• Three entrees
• Four snack items


A child is provided a bag of food within their backpack or locker on a Friday afternoon so they have something to help get them through the long weekend before they can return to the school lunch and breakfast programs.
Our youth summer meals program offers sites where kids can go to receive a boxed lunch during the summer months when the school breakfast and lunch programs are not available.
The Great Plains Food Bank School Pantry Program is now placing food pantries directly inside of schools, adding a needed and convenient resource for students and families struggling with food insecurity.
