A program that helps provide food to young people throughout the county has been expanded to meet a higher demand after a successful first year.

The Boys & Girls Club of Lorain County and Second Harvest Food Bank started the backpack program in 2006 to provide more than 150 Lorain County youths with enough food to get them through the weekend. This year, the groups raised production — making more than 260 sacks.

The children — all free- or reduced-lunch recipients — typically come from homes where food is scarce, said Julie Chase-Morefield, executive director of Lorain’s Second Harvest Food Bank.

“When these kids don’t get enough to eat over the weekend, they’re lethargic when they come into school on Monday,” Chase-Morefield said. “We try to put a variety of food in there like cereal bars and protein items and make sure to cover their fruits and vegetables.”

JASON MILLER / CHRONICLE

Julie Chase-Morefield, executive director of Second Harvest in Lorain, holds one of the backpacks for the food bank’s program.

The backpack program was introduced on a national scale by America’s Second Harvest, Second Harvest’s national organization, and a $20,000 grant from Wal-Mart provided enough money to start the local program.

Here, backpacks are filled with $3 worth of food for breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, and distributed through eight Boys & Girls Clubs of Lorain County sites, as well as four Elyria elementary schools.

This year, the program was able to accommodate the influx of children with a $25,000 grant provided by the Nordson Corporation Foundation. An additional $3,000 from the Elyria Schools and $1,000 from Sam’s Club in Sheffield helped to carry the program through for another year.

“We’ve seen some really positive results,” Chase-Morefield said. “The supportive grants were the reason we were able to get up to 260 (backpacks) this year. Before the program, these children just weren’t getting enough to eat.”

Second Harvest distributed a record 385,000 pounds of food across Lorain, Erie, Huron and Crawford counties in October 2007. Early estimates for December predict a new record of 450,000 pounds might be reached.

Chase-Morefield attributed the surge to rising gas prices, utility bills and unemployment, but she said the need to expand the backpack program is even more evident.

“If we had enough money and manpower, we’d do it,” she said.

If you’re interested in volunteering for the backpack program or donating, call Second Harvest Food Bank at (440) 960-2265.

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

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