The Bean Bag Food Program

Our Mission & Story

Serving Students Meals to End Food Insecurity

THE BEAN BAG FOOD PROGRAM

Our Mission

To provide food, encouragement and hope to children experiencing weekend hunger.

Our Story

The Bean Bag Food Program began when a guest speaker visiting Zion Mennonite Church brought attention to a problem right in the Souderton Community’s backyard: that around 50% of families in a local elementary school were living at or below the poverty line. After some research about other similar food programs throughout the country designed to provide meals for local children, the Bean Bag Food Program was born.

We started with a single school, feeding 20 students in January 2016. And by the following Fall, other schools in the Souderton and Quakertown Community School Districts heard about our work and wanted to get involved. Since then, we’ve added one to two schools each year and continue to grow.

The “Bean Bag” name comes from the simple truth that food is a necessity everywhere in the world. And in almost every country, beans are an affordable, nutritious staple in any diet – which directly aligns with our goal to create awareness about food insecurity in our communities, provide nutrition, and end hunger.

The Bean Bag Food Program is a public charity recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS under Section 501(c)(3).