by Helen Duncan

The Back Pack program at Buena Vista – Congregational UCC used an RMC “in-the-mud” grant of $1,200 this past summer. The church and the community were very grateful for that help. The Back Pack food program serves between 60 and 75 youth every week and has been in operation for over a decade. The food is stored at the church and that is where the packing is done by volunteers both from the church and the community at large. But it’s not really a religious project. It’s very much a community thing. The prime purpose is to provide children of the community in need of food assistance during the weekends to ensure those children don’t go hungry.

The program relies primarily on volunteer efforts and donations for operations and funding. This year I applied for a grant through the Chaffee County Community Foundation and got $2,000 as well as the RMC In-the-Mud grant. But I hope we don’t have to apply for grants every year. Due to the recent publicity we have received more individual funding and additional volunteers. We really wish to make the program a continuing community priority.

Check out the article in the Chaffee County Times