BREMERTON BACKPACK BRIGADE
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to serve the nutritional needs of students in Bremerton, WA elementary schools. We deliver backpacks of food support to the children who depend on free or reduced cost school meals during the week and who face hunger on the weekends. Our vision is to focus on the problem of hunger as it affects the well-being and academic performance of children in our community. We believe that food has the power to change lives. With community support and many volunteers, we strengthen families by supplementing their resources with simple nutritious food. By addressing this basic nee, the children are equipped to learn, provisioned to grow and empowered to achieve.
About This Cause
The purpose of the Bremerton Backpack Brigade is to serve the first needs of the child so they may learn. Our mission is to deliver backpacks of food support to children who depend on free daytime school meals but go hungry on the weekends. Our vision is to focus on the problem of hunger as it affects learning and academic performance. With community support and volunteer efforts we strengthen our community by supplementing family food resources with simple nutritional meals. We believe that food has the power to change the world. By addressing the basic needs of the children, they are equipped to learn, provisioned to grow, and empowered to achieve. The Bremerton Backpack Brigade (The Brigade) incorporated in November 2014, governed by a nine-person board of directors and supported by over 50 volunteers. School officials describe our area as “a pocket of poverty” with an average of 60.5% of Bremerton elementary students enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program. The Brigade is able to supplement every family needing food support in Bremerton elementary schools because of the generosity of our community and the dedication of our volunteers who take responsibility for every aspect of our organization including the procurement and distribution of food, fundraising, administrative tasks, and ensuring compliance with all our policies and procedures. Many families in our community need income support due in part to the high cost of living. In Bremerton the cost of goods & services is 27% higher than the Washington average and 35% higher than the U.S. average (areavibes.com). In addition to stressful financial circumstances, a disproportionate number of our families face the challenges of abusive relationships, homelessness, parental incarceration, parental separation or divorce, and substance abuse. The negative impact of these adverse childhood experiences (ACE) is apparent in the attendance, behavior, and academic performance of the children in these households. Despite the pervasive challenge of poverty and other ACEs, our community exhibits the strengths of compassion and unsparing generosity. Our six school communities express their generosity through creative and bountiful food drives. One school embarked on a space theme this year to “Blast Hunger Into Outer Space.” At this school the interventionist observed a third grader opening his own backpack of food to contribute to the drive. The benevolence of our community extends well beyond the schools as we witness the lavish donations of shoppers at local grocery stores donating carts full of food. The Brigade is the only non-profit offering this type of food support during the school year for elementary-aged students in Bremerton. The Brigade is perfectly tailored to both meet an important need in our community as well as provide a venue for people to express their compassion for their neighbors in need. Those who know the strain of food insecurity seem the most eager to share their resources.