Donate to East Bay Community Action Program on 401Gives- food for kids

The Backpack Feeding Program, which is managed by East Bay Community Action Program’s (EBCAP) Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone (NFCOZ) at Pell Elementary School, provides a weekly bag of food for enrolled children on the weekend when food can be scarce for families.

The NFCOZ's mission, in partnership with schools, families and the community, is to support children and their families to thrive through the delivery of comprehensive and integrated education, health, and social services. The Backpack Feeding Program exists in partnership with the RI Community Food Bank (RICFB). Each week, the RICFB delivers pre-packaged food to Pell Elementary School for distribution. On Fridays, enrolled students receive enough healthy non-perishable meals, snacks, and nutritious beverages for them to have over two and a half days. The program serves 100-125 students during the school year.

“This program is such an important resource,” states Christine Arouth, Director of NFCOZ. “Now more than ever, families are struggling to manage costs of housing, food, utilities, medical expenses, and other basic needs. At Pell Elementary School, 74% of students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch. By working in partnership with the community and the school district, NFCOZ utilizes the Backpack Feeding Program to quickly get food to families in need,” she adds.

“Families are struggling with rising costs, and their reliance on local nonprofits is increasing as their need for support services grows. Knowing more work needs to be done, we at East Bay Community Action Program are eager to participate once again in the United Way of Rhode Island’s “401Gives,” (a statewide day of giving that encourages individuals to support the efforts of nearly 600 local nonprofits),” said Maggie Laurianno, EBCAP’s Director of Communications and Development. Like previous years, funds raised by EBCAP will benefit the Backpack Feeding Program. Beginning at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 1st, online donations can be made at https://www.401gives.org/organizations/east-bay-community-action-program.

East Bay Community Action Program is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation that provides a wide array of health and human services to the residents of Rhode Island’s East Bay, including the municipalities of East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, and Jamestown. For more information regarding programs and services, please visit www.ebcap.org.