PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Mercy Chefs is filling thousands of backpacks with snacks and food for families across the country, helping bridge the gap while school meal programs are on summer break.
The Hampton Roads-based nonprofit kicked off its expanded Summer Backpack Food Program in Portsmouth on Wednesday.
"Today we are out passing backpacks to anybody who needs one, and it's not just a backpack but it's a backpack full of snacks,” Thomas Yager, VP of Community Kitchens and Outreach with Mercy Chefs, said. “A lot of times during the summer our kids aren't in school, they're not getting the same lunches and different things that they're used to."
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Mercy Chefs plans to distribute more than 7,000 food-filled backpacks each week throughout July and August in communities across the country.
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