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Louisville nonprofit to eliminate 1,400 students from feeding program; How you can help

"Blessings in a Backpack" is trying to connect with other local organizations to help feed the children who will no longer receive its assistance in the new year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At a time when many people are looking forward to a new start in the new year, Kim Holsclaw is dreading it.

She's worked for the Louisville chapter of national nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack for nearly a decade, and is the organization's managing director.

"Right now, we're feeling emotionally drained," she said. "Having to make these difficult decisions is something none of us want to do. We're just not in a good place right now, emotionally, all of us."

The chapter is "dedicated to feeding school-age kids on weekends." It currently holds feeding programs inside 55 Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), serving more than 6,800 students.

But as the year draws to a close, the nonprofit is facing major cuts, Holsclaw said, forcing them to eliminate 1,400 students and 14 JCPS schools from its program in the new year.

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"The kids that we serve depend on that food," Holsclaw said. "When they go home for the weekend, many of them go 65 hours with nothing to eat."

She said the nonprofit is bogged down by economic factors stifling many other local nonprofits right now: a stagnant, yet, still high inflation rate coupled with a soaring demand for food.

"We've raised in one month last fiscal year, what we've raised since July 1 through the end of October this year," Holsclaw said. 

Blessings in a Backpack will continue to serve 5,400 students and 41 JCPS schools in the new year, but Holsclaw said she's worried about the impact their program cuts will have.

"I don't want to think about it. I have to be honest. I can't imagine the disappointment," she said. 

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In Jefferson County alone, there's nearly 80,000 kids who qualify for the Federal free and reduced lunch program, Holsclaw said. 

"If you can comprehend [that], you know, almost 80,000 kids—that's not adults, that's kids—here in Louisville, that have no idea where their next meal is gonna come from," she said.

Blessings in a Backpack is trying to connect with other local organizations to help feed the children who will no longer receive its assistance in the new year, according to a press release from the nonprofit.

In the meantime, Holsclaw said the nonprofit is sending out an "urgent" call to action to the community to donate. 

"It doesn't take a lot to make a difference. [With] $10, we can feed a child for two weekends," she said. "Businesses corporations, if you have that money left in your budget at the end of this year, consider donating to help us feed kids." 

Anyone interested in helping to send direct donations to Blessings in a Backpack here.

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