Andrea Johnson/MDN “Thank you. Thank you so much,” said Souris Valley United Way executive director Rich Berg on Thursday, tearing up a bit as he thanked Marketplace Foods employees who had raised $81,689.44 for the Backpack Buddies program to feed needy kids on weekends. Pictured at left are Marketplace Foods employees Howard Steen and Patty Mathews; pictured to Berg’s right are Craig Heupel, Morgan Dodgen, and Dalia Zizumbo of Marketplace Foods.

Marketplace Foods employees raised $81,689.44 this year for the Souris Valley United Way’s Backpack Buddies program, which helps feed needy Minot kids on weekends.

“They’ve just been knocking it out of the park,” said Rich Berg, United Way director.

Berg said the donation is a huge increase over the donation Marketplace Foods made last year and last year’s donation had been a huge increase on the one made in 2019.

The program funds backpacks filled with six meals and snacks that are handed out at select Minot Public Schools to the children whom educators deem the most needy in the community. Kids can eat school lunch during the school year but might otherwise go hungry on weekends if the backpacks were not provided. The backpacks provide meals for the school-age children but Berg said many of the kids are probably also sharing meals and snacks with younger siblings and with their parents.

This year United Way will be able to add Jim Hill Middle School to the schools that it serves, said United Way outreach specialist Christy Miller.

Berg said there is a definite need for more funding for the program. Last year the Backpack Buddies program provided backpacks for about 250 children in Minot elementary schools and for 28 students attending the alternative high school. Berg said the program could easily have fed another 150 students if it had had enough funding.

Marketplace Foods employees have been passionate about the program. During the donation period, they asked customers who were purchasing groceries if they wanted to donate or sponsor a food item for the backpacks. Berg said Minot residents who purchased groceries at Marketplace Foods have therefore also helped to feed hungry kids.

United Way also helps support a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that has provided free meals for children when school is not in session.