The Hastings Mutual Insurance Company Charitable Foundation recognizes the contributions of nonprofit organizations in the communities we serve. Each month, we’ll honor one of those organizations as our Nonprofit of the Month.

Blessings In A Backpack really is what its name states: donations that provide meals for students. While many receive a reduced-cost meal for lunch at school, that doesn’t help on the weekends, or during the summer break. Three out of four teachers across the U.S. say they have children in their classrooms who regularly come to school hungry. The national program provides lunches to more than 92,000 children each weekend.

The organization estimates it costs $100 to feed a child on a weekend during the school year (38 weeks). Volunteers fill a backpack with food and drop it off at a school, where children can bring it home for meals on Saturday and Sunday.

Blessings in a Backpack is supported by Hastings Mutual and Norris Insurance in Amboy, Indiana.