McBackpack Logo

McBackpack - Fort Collins, CO

Believing that children, if well nourished, are able to participate more fully in the learning environment,
McBackpack provides supplemental food to Poudre School District students and their families who otherwise would not have enough food over the weekend.

Volunteer & Donation Opportunities

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Our Mission 

Vision

To ensure that a child's ability to learn is not compromised by the lack of nourishing food over the weekend and that all the requests from the Poudre School District to provide food for a child or family are answered.

Mission

Believing children are more able to learn when well-nourished, McBackpack provides nutritional food to children and families within the Poudre School District who may otherwise go without food over the weekend.

Values

* To provide weekend food for Poudre School District children and their family members who are in need * To provide healthy and nourishing foods * To provide for the whole family * To value volunteers and their time * To support the Poudre School District and our community * To build, grow, and honor collaborative partnerships
Mission Vision & Values
12,000+
Bags Packed
100+
Volunteers
42+
Schools Served
16
Years Serving the Community

Donate

 

Donate by PayPal

To use a credit card simply click the PayPal button below.


Donate By Check

You may also send a check to the following address. This option avoids the PayPal service fee on our account. All donations are tax deductible.

McBackpack, Inc.
P.O. Box 2082
Fort Collins, CO 80522


Please make checks payable to McBackpack, Inc. and we will send you a confirmation letter and donations receipt.

Join King Soopers or Safeway Community Shopping Programs

These programs donate to McBackpack at no cost to you! For King Soopers see instructions below. For Safeway please contact McBackpack for a card.

Volunteer  

If you would like to join us to pack, deliver we would be happy to have you as part of our team. We also welcome those with experience in other areas such as marketing, communications, logistics, etc. Contact mbp@mcbackpack.org for more volunteer details and opportunities.


McBackpack Volunteer Thank You

FOOD DONATIONS

Our goal is to provide healthy, nourishing and non- perishable foods that are relatively easy to prepare or require no preparation at all. Please consider the weight of each item in relation to students carrying bags home. We are not permitted to send home glass jars.

  •  
  • Granola / Protein Bars
  • Snack Packets (nuts, dried fruit) 
  •  Oatmeal packets 
  •   Popcorn (microwave)  
  •   Individual Cereal Cups  
  •  Beef Jerky Sticks  
  •  Cracker packets (with peanut butter or cheese)  
  •  Macaroni & Cheese (boxes or cups) 
  •  Single serve containers of fruit  
  •  Items with pop-top lids (soups pasta, cereal)  
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  • Peanut Butter
  • Canned Meats (tuna or chicken)  
  •  Soups 
  •   Pasta 
  •   Canned Fruit  
  •  Boxed Meals (pasta and rice)  
  •  Canned Meals (ravioli, chili, beef stew)  
  •  Canned Beans 
  •  Canned Vegetables  
  •  Canned Pasta Sauce  

VOLUNTEER

  • Volunteer to help pack and/or deliver
  • Food donations
  • Organize and host a food/can drive
  • Donate clean reusable (not plastic) grocery bags

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Calendar


STORIES

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  • Stories from the Children

    Mary is always asking her counselor , "When will the McBackpack be here?"
    The counselor asks why she is so interested.
    "Because when I take my bag home, my grandma and I put it all out on the table and we make as many meals as we can with it.   Then we both know what we will have to eat.   Sometimes I help cook the meals."



    One day school staff observed students taking items out of their food bags and handing them to another girl new to the school (a no-no by school rules,) so the students were asked why:
    "Because Sharyl doesn't get any bags yet, and her mom and her don't have much food.   Now their peanut butter is even gone, so we gave her some of our food."
    This story always gets to me because here are kids sharing when they hardly have enough for their own families.



    A grandma relates, "I noticed Amy, my first grader, almost dancing when she opened her bag and I asked why."
    Amy said, "Because this week we got 'Busgeti' and it's my (sic) favor-ite."



    "Mommy, look we got peanut butter, raisins, and two apples.   I can make my own peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple to take to school and then I get to sit with the other kids who bring their own lunches."
    This was her first home-made lunch.



    Bobby said, "When I bring my bag of food I feel like a grown-up because I am helping my whole family."



    One year, two days before Thanksgiving, a family of five (grandmother and mother and three children) were forced to give up their hotel room.   Three weeks before, they had lost their home.   A principal called one of McBackpack's founders and asked, "You told me I could call you if I ever needed to.   Can you help this family today?   Please."
    The founder immediately tapped into the network that supports McBackpack and before the day was out food and lodging were provided for a month and the principal was given contacts for the future, if needed.

            - Dale Lake in the October 2014 First Presbyterian Church Newsletter
  •  
  • A McBackpack Story

    January 2014

    We have the best kids here...   They work so hard at school and always are taking care and watching out for others at their school.   Empathy is one of our school-wide expectations and this story is a true example of the spirit of our children.

    Two staff members came to me after school very concerned.   They witnessed students who receive the weekly food backpacks giving peanut butter and other food from their backpacks to another student.   The staff members were concerned and upset as to why students who were receiving this food every week would be giving away this food for their families.   They questioned whether these students even actually needed the food.   I assured them that all the students receiving the weekly food backpacks were in need and that I would look into in on Monday.

    On Monday morning I went to pull the student who had received the food from the other students to see if she was in need of support from us.   I asked her how things were going at school and home and she reported that things were OK.   I then told her that other teachers had seen students giving her food from their food backpacks and asked her what the situation was.   She then broke down and told me her story.   Her mother has Multiple Sclerosis and lost her job.   Her mother had been been very tired and wasn't feeling well.   In addition, her fourteen-year-old sister had also been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and was having a hard time.   She said that they had been living on peanut butter and jelly and cereal for many weeks.   The kids were giving her their peanut butter because her family had run out and they also had given her some of their other food because they were so kind.   She said she didn't want to ask for a food backpack because she did have food to eat.   I explained to her that the food backpacks were for anyone who needed food support over the weekend and that there were plenty of food backpacks for all of our students, including her.   She was so happy and relieved.   I gave her one of our special food backpack letters and she brought it back the next day.   The students who had been giving her food were excited for her and even helped her on the bus with her food backpack that Friday.

    I wanted you to know how much the food backpack program means to our students and families.   Thank you for supporting our families each and every week with this program.   The food provides more than just nourishment for their bodies, but gives them an opportunity to help their families and beyond.

            - Anonymous

  •  
  • A McBackpack Story


  • Hello,

    I am currently on your list, I was a previous volunteer.   I thought you would like a story on the food bags in the schools: I work at one of the elementary schools that get the bags.   You actually deliver a lot to us :)   There is one student I get to work with, he mentioned going to bed hungry a couple of weeks ago.   I spoke to him about how you all can pack a bag for him that would not require any heating and would be items he could use to feed himself and his younger brother.   He does not like being different and would not take the whole sack home, but was willing to bring a little home each time he felt he needed something at home.   I believe it gave him the feeling of control over a situation he has little control over.   The sack stays in a discrete place in his classroom where he can use foods as an after school snack and bring home what he thinks can be used for that night.   He was most excited about the canned chicken, although his eyes lit up also when he saw the pudding.

    Thanks for volunteering and making a difference in a child’s life!

    Sincerely,
    Mickey

            - From A School Volunteer
  •  
  • Why I am So Happy on Thursdays


    It is Thursday morning and I find myself glowing with love.   I am walking with an easy free feeling and greeting everyone I see with a big smile and warm hello.   I feel great and want to share my joy of life with everyone.   I feel good about myself and the world I live in.   Then I asked myself WHY do I feel so much joy in my heart today?

    Today I started my day with McBackpack.   I was able to volunteer my time for a most worthy cause -- but it is the other PEOPLE, my fellow volunteers, who fill my heart with so much love.   Working with such an awesome group of kind and loving people -- I truly feel like a better person.   The sense of caring and need to take care of those who are less fortunate is in each and every person.   I feel like belonging to such a group is inspiring.

    The McBackpack volunteers are a mixed bag- all different ages and all different backgrounds, but there is a common thread that binds us together and that is compassion.   We all know that helping to feed the kids in the Poudre School District who need food on weekends is commendable.   We also know that giving our time for such an organization makes us an important part of our community.

    I am so proud to call myself a Mcbackpacker!

            - A McBackback Volunteer
  •  
  • A McBackpack Story

    I have a young lady and her family that were in dire need of food assistance.   I explained how the McBackpack system worked and she was surprised and completely thankful for any assistance that we could give her, her siblings and her family.   As a high school student, it is difficult to accept help, especially with picking up food to take home.   This young lady came every Thursday to pick up her packs to take home for her family and always left saying "thank you so much."   The first of February she came in to let me know that her family was doing better and that they didn’t need the food packs any more.   I told her if something happened or things got tight again to please let me know and I would add her back on the delivery list again.   She got tears in her eyes and told me how thankful her family was for the help we gave them and without it they wouldn’t have been able to feed the family.   Now that they are doing better they wanted to make sure the food was going to another family in need. They felt it was their way of "paying it forward."   She gave me a big hug and thanked me again.   I am sending the same to all of you at the McBackpack organization.   You made this possible for this amazing young lady and her family.

    Thank you, Thank you on behalf of all of us here at Rocky Mountain High School.

            - From a High School Counselor

ABOUT

McBackpack began in 2007 when Ann Randall and Gerry Lake approached the Poudre School District to see how they could help with something that would help the students.   Susan Lind and Jan Stark, PSD Resource Specialists, suggested there was a need for supplemental food for a number of students who were not receiving enough food at home over weekends.   Out of that concern, Ann Randall and Gerry Lake worked with school staff to receive names of schools that had students in need of supplemental food at home.   They began buying food and receiving donations to pack five food bags per week and deliver them to the children's schools. McBackpack does not know the names of any of the students who receive the food bags - only the school names where the bags will be delivered.

The following year, Ann spoke at First Presbyterian Church in a Minute for Missions presentation in which she proposed a different "Small Group Ministry" for members of the congregation.   A group of 12-15 volunteers answered the call and began packing about 20 food bags each week in the basement of the church and delivering them to the children's schools.

Dale and Volunteers


In 2009, McBackpack outgrew the basement space and moved upstairs to the main meeting room in the church.   Dave Randall designed shelving for the storeroom that would withstand the weight of the foods and Wayne Carroll and Dale Lake built them.   The church has continued to allow McBackpack to use church space for all these years.

With the growth of the program, volunteers came from many churches and other organizations in Fort Collins.   Thirty to forty volunteers showed up each week to pack and deliver.

In 2012, Gerry Lake asked ten volunteers to form the Board of Directors: Barbara Frye, Sharyl Haas, Cleon Kimberling, Dale Lake, Gerry Lake, Carol Pleacher, David Pleacher, Ann Randall, Dave Randall, and Sue Siferd.   The group wrote the Articles of Incorporation in 2012 and the By-Laws in 2013.

In January 2014, McBackpack became incorporated as a 501(c)3, non-profit organization.
Donations to McBackpack, Inc. then became tax deductible.

The program continues to grow.   November 2019 marked the beginning of our 13th year of packing and delivering food bags to students in need within the Poudre School District.   Volunteers now pack and deliver over 400 food bags each week to forty-two schools.


McBackpack Officiers

Current Board Members

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Ann Randall

President & Founder

2012 - Present

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Susan Lind

Director of Operations

2012 - Present

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Kevin McCrary

Treasurer

2022 - Present

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Nancy Sturtevant

McBackpack Referral Coordinator

2017 - Present

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Craig Chastain

Delivery Co-Coordinator

2019 - Present

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Diana Chastain

Delivery Co-Coordinator

2019 - Present

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Rob Petterson

Board Member

2019-Present

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Don Lyon

Board Member

2019 - Present

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Dave Randall

Board Member

2019 - Present

Past Board Members

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Cleon Kimberling

Board Member

2012 - 2022

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Carol Pleacher

Secretary 

2012-2020

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David Pleacher

Treasurer

2012 - 2023

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Dale Lake

Board Member

2012 - 2018

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Gerry Lake

Treasurer

2012-2018

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Jeremy Wasserman

Board Member

2017-2018

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Sue Siferd

Board Member

2012 -2017

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Barb Frye

Board Member

2012-2014

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John Francis

Webmaster

2014-2015

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Noah Harrison

Board Member

2014-2016

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Kerk Staples

Board Member

2015-2016

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Barb Frye

Co-Director

2013-2015

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Gerry Lake

Co-Director

2007-2013

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Sharyl Haas

Board Member

2012-2020

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Jaxyn McKesson

Board Member

2019-2021

Partners


McBackpack works with many, wonderful partners! Our original efforts began with Poudre School District Staff members in the McKinney Vento Program and has continued to grow as we now work with McKinney Contacts in each school across the District from pre-K through high school. These Contacts and their understanding of the needs of each student is critical to our being able to serve students who are most in need. First Presbyterian Church (FPC) has also been with us from the beginning!  The church has donated space for us to pack each week and allowed us to build storage shelves for our food. First Presbyterian’s Mission and Outreach Center also contributes financial support to our program each month and we also have many volunteers who are active members of the church. We are extremely grateful for the staff of FPC and their continued support of our Program! The Food Bank for Larimer County provides food for the program at reduced prices and delivers the food to the church each week.



These are just a few of the entities that make McBackpack possible. Groups such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Bohemian Foundation, RBC Wealth Management, Timnath Presbyterian Church and many others from the Faith Community, as well as anonymous foundations and individuals donate their time and financial support to make sure we are always able to meet the needs of our Community!  Thank you to all who have and continue to make McBackpack possible! *All logos are owned by their respective companies.



CONTACT

 

McBackpack, Inc. P.O. Box 2082 Fort Collins, CO 80522

Phone: 970-232-8931

Email: mbp@mcbackpack.org


Contact Information