Food Backpacks for Kids are prepared three months of the year by members of Jacksons Grove United Methodist Church. This is a unique effort to meet the needs of nearly four dozen hungry, food-insecure school children. Supported by generous contributions from church members, the backpack project is one of a dozen or so worthy local causes supported by the historic Jacksons Grove church that was founded in the early 1800s.

“Helping our neighbors is what we do,” said Susan Davis, the church’s administrator. “It’s a 185-year tradition of caring for those in need.”

The church worships every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in its 1875 sanctuary located at 2842 North Pacolet Road in Landrum.

This program is a community effort to ensure that those students and their families who need food on the weekends have access to nutritious and easy-to-prepare meals. Volunteers from the community donate, collect and pack a variety of meals in backpacks to be distributed weekly during the school year to children identified by school counselors as needing our offerings.

– submitted by Susan Davis