BackPacks for Friday program looking for help

Cape Girardeau's BackPacks for Friday program, which provides food for students to take home on weekends, is in need of financial support, according to a news release from the Southeast Missouri Food Bank.

It costs $320 to provide a child with a backpack for a year.

More than 150 backpacks are distributed to the four elementary schools in Cape Girardeau. Among the four campuses, the percentage of students eligible for the National School Free and Reduced Lunch Program ranges from 59 percent to 92 percent, the release states

"We are reaching out to everyone in hopes of getting the public to rally behind this program," chief executive officer Karen Green said in the release. "Lack of immediate financial support for the 2014-2015 school year may mean canceling the program, or reducing the number of children served. Without donations to this program, children will go hungry. It paints a scary picture. It is an awful situation, but it is very real."

The food bank has a network of 73 BackPacks for Friday programs that help feed children in 14 of the 16 counties in its region.