Since 2010, Anne Arundel County Public Schools has partnered with more than 40 county organizations, nonprofit groups, and houses of worship to provide supplemental weekend food for students whose families struggle to make ends meet and to put food on the table. Many of these students may receive free or reduced meals in school during the week but have insufficient food in their homes over a weekend or short school break.
The Weekend Food Program matches a school that identifies such a need in its student population with an interested community group. The partners work together to determine how many students can be accommodated in the program, given the volunteers and funds that the community partner is able to provide. Families give written permission for their child to participate in the program.
Each Friday, the community group delivers a backpack of nonperishable food to the school for each participating child to take home for the weekend. The child returns the backpack to school on Monday and the cycle continues for the whole school year.
AACPS’ Office of School & Family Partnerships will host an annual meeting of schools and community groups participating in the Weekend Food Program from 9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 30, at Heritage Baptist Church, 1740 Forest Drive, Annapolis, MD 21401. Participants will share information about how individual programs are structured, as well as tips for running successful programs.
Any community groups not currently participating in the Weekend Food Program but which are interested in partnering with a school to begin a program are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to Anne Weaver at 410-570-8265 or aweaver1@aacps.org if you are planning to attend.
If you have questions about the Weekend Food Program in general, please feel free to contact Teresa Tudor, Senior Manager, Office of School & Family Partnerships, at 410-222-5414 or ttudor@aacps.org.