Power Packs Project, Lebanon Region

Power Packs Project is a local non-profit that started in Lancaster when our founder saw children lining up early Monday mornings at school to receive breakfast. She soon discovered that many of the students had not had a full meal since lunch on Friday. She wanted to do more than give just the child weekend food, but to empower the family by providing the education and resources to prepare a low-cost nutritious meal. Several years ago the program expanded to Lebanon.

We currently serve 5 of 6 school districts in Lebanon County and provide packs for over 300 families each week. This program is supported by the Lebanon community, local companies and grants. There is no direct government funding for Power Packs, and all money raised for the Lebanon program stays in Lebanon. To keep costs low, over 50 volunteers dedicate their time to Power Packs every week, and many others help throughout the year with various projects.

Power Packs Project provides a recipe, its ingredients, and other staples such as fresh milk, cereal, and other pantry, fresh and/or frozen food items every Wednesday and Thursday to food insecure families with children in grades K-12 in Lebanon County. We also include healthy tips and educational food-related materials, giving families the resources they need to cook low-cost, nutritious meals on the weekend, when there is no school food program to support their children. This helps children return to school on Monday ready to learn.

Volunteers help pack, deliver, and/or distribute food packs at participating schools and other community-based distribution sites in Lebanon County. Many volunteers help once a week while others help when they can with one particular volunteer task (packing, driving/delivering packs to sites, and helping run weekly distribution). Some tasks require more commitment than others- be in touch if you want to help out, and we can figure out the best volunteer task for you!