Many East Texas children who participate in free and reduced price school meal programs during the week face hunger on weekends and holidays, when those programs do not operate.
The East Texas Food Bank Backpack Program was designed to close this weekend hunger gap for these children. Staff and faculty members at school campuses choose which children join the program, based on an assessment of need.
On Fridays, participating children each receive a backpack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly items such as fruit, juice, 2 single serving cans of pasta or rice based entrees, cereal/bars and shelf-stable milk to help last them until Monday morning, when school meal programs resume.
The Quitman Rotary Club has teamed with Quitman's First United Methodist Church.

Remembering Polio at its peak (Dallas Morning News July 30, 2017)
Rotary is partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide Medicare and aid to those in need.
Worldwide we have donated over 1 Billion dollars to providing education, immunizations, and healthcare to wipe out this deadly disease.
PolioPlus is a far reaching organization, dedicated to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Rotary is a leader in the private sector, seeking to rid the world of Polio. This crippling disease has plagued humanity for over 30 years. PolioPlus is setting a standard worldwide as the strongest model of public-private cooperation as we pursue a humanitarian goal.
Rotary International Ending Polio link: Goal and "By the numbers"
Each year, 130-140 million children are born! Polio vaccination is the only way to prevent polio spreading.
Why 5 years old is critical! Zero-dose children video is a 2.5 minute video: https://www.endpolio.org/resource-center#video
Short video about Rotary, Pakistan and Polio vaccine:
