Hadley Bodell
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — The Idaho Foodbank’s Back-to-School Campaign is underway for the 2026 school year, including programs such as school pantries and backpack meals.
Building on its success in 2025, when the program eliminated its waitlist, the Southeast Idaho branch of the food bank plans to continue serving every child in need this school year.
The food bank in Pocatello partners with 78 local schools to fight food insecurity among students. Once the backpack meals are packaged at the food bank, drivers deliver the boxes to schools across eastern Idaho.
“We work with the counselors, the teachers and school staff to identify the students who are in need,” said Cassey Leatham, regional director for The Idaho Foodbank. “It’s very discreet; kids go in and get their backpack, it just slides in super easy and they’re good to go for the weekend.”
The backpack meals are distributed to elementary school students and include a dietitian-curated menu of nutritious foods.
The food pantries, also stocked by The Idaho Foodbank, began after organizers realized some students were taking backpack meals home and trying to share them with their entire families.
“Sometimes it’s a closet or a shelf in a classroom, and they have a lot more options that are family-friendly varieties,” Leatham said. “There’s bigger portions, and most of the time they’re open and available at the schools for people to access them.”
Leatham said the campaign ends next week, but the food bank raises money for the programs throughout the year.
One backpack meal costs $12, and the Southeast Idaho branch distributed nearly 24,000 last year. This year, Leatham said the organization expects an increase of about 10,000 meals statewide.
“We cannot do this program without the support of the community; 95% of our funding comes from organizations and private individuals, because the food that we put in the backpacks is all purchased food,” she said.
The food bank does not use donated food for the backpack meals because the meals are specifically designed around students’ nutritional needs.
Leatham said organizers also have to consider that some children may be preparing food for themselves with limited access to kitchen equipment. Items such as dry goods, canned soups and “just add water” pasta that can be prepared in a microwave are often included.
Each backpack provides enough food for two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and several snacks over the weekend.
Leatham said the program would not be possible without volunteers.
“We have two to three volunteer sessions a day here, they’re two-hour windows,” she said. “We have thousands of volunteers each year, and last year was over 17,000 volunteer hours, which is the equivalent of about seven to eight full-time employees in this warehouse alone.”
One of those volunteers is Beth Kauffmann, who began volunteering last November and said she believes community members have a responsibility to help one another.
“Insecurity is something that we all face at times, and it’s important to help others,” Kauffmann said. “I know that what we’re doing is good. It’s a good thing. And at the end of my shift here volunteering, I feel like I’ve done something worthwhile in my day that has made a difference in the world.”
Volunteers range in age from retirees to students helping their own classmates.
Reed Hurst, 13, and Clara Hurst, 10, are local students who volunteer weekly at the food bank.
“I don’t really have a lot to do after camps are over in the summer,” Reed said. “It makes me feel happy that I can help here, and it looks good on my college resume.”
Reed said the food bank often sets up a conveyor belt around the stockroom to create an assembly line. On other days, volunteers walk through the warehouse filling plastic bags with packaged food.
“I break apart the boxes and throw them in a recycling box so it doesn’t get cluttered,” Clara said. “It’s something to do and it helps people with less food. It just feels good to know who you’re helping and why you’re helping.”
Leatham said 17.4% of children in eastern Idaho are food insecure, which continues to drive The Idaho Foodbank’s programs and mission to end hunger in the state.
“We always say we wish we could go out of business, because that would mean we’ve solved hunger and everybody has access to healthy, nutritious food,” Leatham said. “But unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder for families to get by. So that’s really why we keep doing what we do.”
Organizers said they have also heard from teachers that students who are hungry can have lower test scores and a harder time focusing during the school day.
Leatham said families interested in the backpack program should first check whether their school participates, then contact the school counselor if they or someone they know could benefit from weekend meals.
The Idaho Foodbank relies primarily on community support to keep its programs operating. Anyone interested in donating or volunteering can visit idahofoodbank.org to learn more.
Click here to follow the original article.
Jefferson School District 251 and Broulim’s family members cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art, 60,0000 square-foot Broulim’s Fieldhouse Thursday.
