[Hampton, VA] – April 13, 2015 – The Virginia Peninsula Foodbank is excited to have been chosen by Feeding America, thanks to Disney Worldwide Services, Inc., to receive a $15,000 grant to help address child hunger by supporting Child Hunger programs in the area. This grant will help sustain the distribution of food to children through the purchase of nutritious food to be dispersed as part of the Foodbank’s Food for Kids BackPack Program. The Virginia Peninsula Foodbank is one of 38 food banks across the nation to be selected for this grant.

“The Disney Child Hunger Grant will enable us to continue to deliver much needed, nutritious foods into the backpacks of children”, said Chief Development Officer, Michele E. Benson. “We are grateful for their confidence in us in feeding hungry children and appreciate their support. Specifically, these funds will support the BackPack Program in Williamsburg and James City County, the school districts with the highest food insecurity rates in our entire service area”.

The BackPack Program is a program of Feeding America that aims to help alleviate child hunger by providing hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations. The program provides bags filled with food that is child-friendly, nonperishable, and easily consumed. These bags are discreetly distributed to children on the last day before the weekend or holiday vacation.