Program Director,
Betsy Hennen
Phone: 320-522-4803
Address:
Physical Address: 100 North Street, Danube, MN 56230
Mailing Address: 1103 Viking Drive, Olivia MN 56277
Social Media:
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The Renville County Back-The-Pack Program is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit that provides weekend meals to students facing food insecurities in Preschool through Grade 8 in Renville County Public Schools. They work toward alleviating hunger in our communities
Volunteer Opportunities:
Food packs are assembled every Tuesday. Volunteers can pick the time to assist. (It takes approximately 30 minutes). Unloading food delivery truck at 8:00 a.m. on the third Tuesday of the month (as needed). Contact for other ways to help (such as grant writing, etc.) by calling 320-522-4803.
What’s in a Food Pack?
Each pack contains child-friendly, single-serving, non-perishable items for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks for two weekend days.
The easy-to-make, nutritious food items include:
- cereal
- instant oatmeal
- pancake mix
- fruit cups
- fruit juice
- instant macaroni and cheese
- soup
- peanut butter and crackers
- granola bars
- pudding cups.
Contributions:
Financial donations, both personal and business, are greatly appreciated. The Renville County Back-the-Pack Program is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, enabling your donations to be tax-deductible. Please make checks payable to “Renville County Back-the-Pack Program and mail to 1103 Viking Drive, Olivia, MN 56277.
Board Members:
| Linda Wagemaker, Treasurer | Olivia | 320-523-1378 |
| Tabitha Miller, Cedar Mountain (CM) | Franklin | |
| Amy Karlson, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart (BLHS) | Hector | 507-766-5870 |
| Jennifer Thompson, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (GFW) | Gibbon | 507-834-6501 |
| Cory Hebrink, Renville County West (RCW) | Renville | 320-894-7203 |
| Kellen Hennen, IT | Olivia | 612-644-4272 |
History
One person, with one idea, can make a difference to once child. As a teacher, Betsy Hennen had encountered many children coming to school hungry, especially on Monday mornings. She asked herself, “What can I do?” After gathering information from other home weekend meal programs, Betsy, together with two fellow teachers, formed the Back-the Pack program that originally helped 19 children in the BOLD school system receive weekend meals. Today, the program serves 220+ children across all Renville County school districts.
