Modesto mayor helps third-graders feed kids in need

Third graders from Big Valley Christian School on Thursday packed bags full of food for kids who might otherwise go hungry during the weekend when they don’t get school lunches.

The national nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack provides weekend food to children in the National School Lunch Program.

On Thursday Mayor Garrad Marsh and his wife Dallas helped the third graders pack more than 900 bags full of crackers, mac and cheese, apples and more.

Britta Foster, coordinator for Blessings in a Backpack in Modesto said each week a different class at Big Valley School, from kindergarten to 12th grade, bag the food. The bags go to children in need at Orville Wright, Wilson and Sherwood elementary schools.

Foster said it costs $80 to feed one child every weekend for a year.

To learn more about the Modesto’s Blessings in a Backpack visit the group’s Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/1W64wcn.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Modesto mayor helps third-graders feed kids in need."