Terri Braun / October 6, 2021
Recommendation for Backpack Friends
To whom it may concern:
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation in recognition of a fantastic local organization, Backpack Friends. Based in Pflugerville, Texas, Backpack Friends partners with local schools to provide nutritious weekend foods to children in food-insecure homes.
Backpack Friends got its start in 2014 when founders Tom and Heather Cottar discovered that one in four children in Texas live in food-insecure homes and often spent their night and weekends being hungry. Together with a group of volunteers, they began assembling and delivering bags of kid-friendly food every weekend, and on Friday, September 5, 2014, twelve children received their first backpack filled with enough food to get them through the weekend.
Today, Backpack Friends works with more than 25 schools across ten districts and three counties and has delivered more than 50,000 weekend food kits, totaling more than 100,000 pounds, to children in its local communities. Its food items always contain single-serve, brand name, kid friendly food that’s higher in protein and 40 percent lower in sugar than typical backpack programs.
At Backpack Friends, its mission is to wipe out weekend hunger one backpack at a time, but it’s the amazing staff and volunteers standing behind it that make all the difference. They prioritize treating kids with dignity and respect and go above and beyond to ensure they feel welcomed, safe, and free from judgment.
Backpack Friends is an important organization that provides vital services to the children in the community who need it most. I applaud the staff and volunteers for the great work they do and support them wholeheartedly as they work to snuff out weekend hunger.
Sincerely yours,
Craig Hubbard
Business Optimization Specialist
Schooley Mitchell
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