Backpack Blessings Supporters Help Atlanta Children Eat Well

 

Backpack Blessings
Image: backpackblessings.com

With in-depth experience as an executive in the payment technology industry, Jerome Uffner most recently served as president and CEO of FirstView Financial in Atlanta. His successes include top-level roles with companies such as Chattanooga’s TransCard, and Jacksonville, Florida-based Fidelity National Information Services. Jerome Uffner is additionally a strong supporter of Backpack Blessings, a nonprofit he serves as president.

At-risk schoolchildren who receive subsidized meals at school can go an entire weekend without access to nourishing food. This is where Backpack Blessings comes in. The group, operating out of the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, organizes sponsorships from community members who agree to fund healthy weekend meals for children in need.

And that need is significant. According to recent statistics cited by the group, close to 15 percent of the households in Georgia’s Cobb County experience regular food insecurity. Backpack Blessings’ staff and volunteers understand that hunger can translate into lower school performance, behavioral problems, and overall sub-par physical and mental health.

Backpack Blessings began its service to the community in 2011, helping more than 100 fourth graders at Fair Oaks Elementary School, almost all of whose students qualified for free or reduced price lunches. By 2015, the group welcomed the start of the school year by delivering food to 500 students every week. Since the start of this partnership with Fair Oaks the school’s test scores have risen, and the United States Department of Education has recognized it as a National Blue Ribbon School for its performance gains.