…Buddy Pack program needs assistance.

Started as a way to make sure nearly 400 hungry children in Cooper County would have food to eat, The Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri introduced their Buddy Pack program to six county schools.

With more than 1,265 children in Cooper County who qualify based solely on financial need, Food Bank Executive Director Peggy Kirkpatrick wishes they could do more to help, but with a number of challenges and obstacles facing the program, there’s a chance that those currently served could lose their food supply.

“We’ve been hit with a phenomenal amount of bills in the last five months,” Kirkpatrick said. “A number of things have kind of hit us all at once and we really realized that many people are unaware of the Buddy Pack Program and what it is we really do.”

The Buddy Pack program helps to provide backpacks full of nutritious food for hungry children to take home during the weekend. Partnering with county schools, Kirkpatrick said school administrators choose the children who will receive the packs based on financial need and/or other hardships.

Suffering from a large reduction in corporate food donations earmarked for the Buddy Pack program, a loss of nearly 500,000 pounds of food this year alone, the program has also seen the cost to feed each child raise by $80 in just the last five months. Skyrocketing fuel and food costs have also added strain on the program.

Unlike their work with area food pantries and organizations, where much of the food comes from individual contributions, the food for Buddy Packs is generally purchased by the Food Bank on a wholesale basis.

Buying food at wholesale, while allowing the food to cost pennies on the dollar, adds freight and fuel costs. Factor in a failed peanut crop and the costs add up fast.

“Peanut butter is the lifeblood of the program,” Kirkpatrick said.

Hoping to offset their losses and keep the program running, the Food Bank has introduced the Adopt a Buddy program.

With a donation of $15 per month of $180 per year, each donor would be able to provide one child with a year’s worth of food. Donations can be made at www.sharefoodbringhope.org/adoptabuddy or mailed to The Food Bank in Columbia.

“Missouri ranks fifth in the nation for food insecurities for children under 18,” Kirkpatrick said. “Nearly 56,000 children statewide qualify for free and reduced lunches at school and for the Buddy Pack program but we’re currently only able to help 8,600.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and have never had to cut a program. To have to cut a children’s program is unimaginable … What we’re doing is far more than just providing food for a family.”

Currently, Buddy Packs are provided to 13 students at the Blackwater school, 60 students in Bunceton, 50 in Otterville, 30 in Prairie Home and more than 200 students receive food between David Barton and Hannah Cole Primary.

“Adopting a child will guarantee that the program doesn’t get cut, or God forbid, eliminated,” Kirkpatrick said. “If you want to help but can’t make the monetary contribution, the best way to help is to donate peanut butter. Children are only getting one jar a month right now because it has gotten so expensive.”

She added that it currently costs nearly $64,000 per year to feed the children of Cooper County. Another $56,000 is also spent in the county through food pantries and ministries.

Monetary donations to the food bank coming from the county only add up to about $26,000 per year. Kirkpatrick said donations from Boone and Cole counties are what keep the programs afloat.

“Most people don’t really know how much the Food Bank is pouring into their county,” she said. “Last year, were were able to provide 440,498 pounds of food to hungry families in Cooper County alone.”

Donations and monetary contributions to the Adopt a Buddy program can also be made at Charlie Brown & Company on Main Street in Boonville.

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