During the 2008-2009 school year, NEK-CAP Inc. teamed up with Second Harvest of Greater St. Joseph, Missouri to begin the Backpack Buddies Program. The Backpack Buddies Program met with much success.  NEK-CAP, Inc. received a 2008 Humanitarian Award from Second Harvest during their annual recognition ceremony in November.  Backpack Buddies was also cited as a strength of the Head Start Program during the Federal Review Process conducted December 2008.

Each Thursday, children enrolled in the NEK-CAP South Brown County Head Start and NEK-CAP Leavenworth County Head Start were given backpacks filled with food to help feed them over the three day weekend.  Children eagerly anticipated their arrival every Thursday and looked forward to seeing what they would find in the pack for the weekend.  All foods sent home were single serving, non-perishable, vitamin rich and kid friendly.  A typical backpack would include a variety of foods i.e., non-refrigerated milk, juice, cheese and crackers, fruit cups, soups, beef stew, cereals, and granola bars.

Families in the program have noted providing food for their families is getting much more difficult.  A classroom teacher returned from a home visit and noted that the only food that was on a family's pantry shelf was the food from the backpack.  Families have indicated they are most grateful for the food for their child.  The additional food provided by Backpack Buddies supplemented the family's food budget and in some instances allowed them to use the savings for additional food they would not have been able to purchase. 

This year, the Backpack Buddies program was funded by two grants which NEK-CAP obtained through Second Harvest and a Community Services discretionary block grant.

NEK-CAP serves families from nine counties in Northeast Kansas.