Past Winners: Western Sugar South Region

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2024 | 2023

2024 Winner: Weekend Backpack Food Program

Scottsbluff and Gering Public Schools’ Weekend Backpack Food Program recently received $10,000 from ACH Seeds’ 2024 Homegrown Giving program, providing crucial support to help address food insecurity among students in the community.

For the past 12 years, the Weekend Backpack Food Program, which handles both the CatPacks and PupPacks, has been a lifeline for students in the Scottsbluff and Gering school districts. Established to address the food insecurity among students from pre-K through high school, the Weekend Backpack Food Program ensures children have access to food over the weekends when school meals are unavailable. What began with 30 backpacks has now expanded to support over 500 students weekly, equipping them with vital food items that enable them to return to school on Monday ready to learn and thrive.

ACH Seeds sales manager Ryan Reuter presents the check to Deb Schild, volunteer for the Weekend Backpack Food Program.

Volunteers help fill backpacks with a variety of nutritious food items, including fresh fruit, canned meals, cereal, instant oatmeal, juice, fruit cups and granola bars.

What began with 30 backpacks has now expanded to support over 500 students weekly, equipping them with vital food items that enable them to return to school on Monday ready to learn and thrive.

Congratulations to the Weekend Backpack Food Program

Watch the short video to learn more about this amazing organization!

Hear from the Winner

Thanks to the Homegrown Giving program, we can now afford to include nutritious items like peanut butter, jelly and tuna in our packs. This funding enables us to buy these items for three months out of the school year to ensure students have a good source of protein in their meals.

Tracy Steele Program Coordinator for the Weekend Backpack Food Program

2023 Winner: Gering High School FFA & Ag Career Pathway!

With the donation, GHS plans to construct a greenhouse at the high school to provide students with the opportunity to participate in hands-on lessons to explore and learn about food systems. Greenhouse construction will start during the fall 2023 semester and is anticipated to be fully operational for the start of the spring 2024 semester. The produce grown in the greenhouse will be used in a farm-to-school program to provide students with nutritious foods in the GHS cafeteria and in the school’s culinary program for education on food production. Extra produce will be donated to the school’s PupPack Backpack Program to supply fresh vegetables for students in need. This project will also help GHS expand their Agriculture Career Pathway program, which helps students learn about agriculture-based career opportunities to help meet growing workforce demands in the community.

Gering High School FFA & Ag Career Pathway holding their $10,000 check.

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I’m grateful to ACH Seeds and their Homegrown Giving program for helping us get one step closer to reaching our goal of getting our greenhouse operational this semester. We look forward to continue supporting our community through projects from this addition.

Carrie Johns GHS Agricultural Sciences Teacher and FFA Advisor

Every Award Winner Has a Different Story

Watch to learn more about the 2023 Homegrown Giving Award Winner for the Western Sugar South Region.