July 11, 2025
BY JOHN BAILEY
A seven-pound bag of food may not sound like a lot to most people but for children in The Corner Table’s Backpack Program, it means a weekend of food they might not otherwise have.
According to the 2023 Catawba County Community Health Assessment by Catawba County Public Health, poverty impacted children the hardest, with 18.8% of all children experiencing poverty, including 19.7% of young children under 5. Poverty among adults is actual highest among residents 18- 34 years-old (14%).
Every year the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) looks for ways to address the need of families facing food insecurity. This year, the CCUW is supporting several food programs including The Backpack Program through the Catawba County Youth Council Community Grant Cycle, underwritten by the United Way.
The Backpack Program provides meals and snacks for children in all three local school systems and provides up to 1800 children with food for the weekend through the school year and the summer.
“Most of our families work, but they just don’t have enough to make ends meet,” program coordinator Aundrea Hawn said.
“It breaks your heart to think a child is hungry, so we do have a lot of community support to help meet this need and are thankful for all of it.”
Southwest Elementary has the largest number of students in the program, 150. Overall, there are five schools that have at least 100 students receiving food.
The bags contain 7 pounds of shelf stable food, including snack items. The program also packs bags to meet the needs of students with food allergies.
“It truly takes a village to help fuel the program every week,” Hawn said.
The program relies on donations from local churches, businesses, and several area grocery stores along with grants.
Volunteers also play a key role every week, sorting donations, stocking items, checking expiration dates and packing bags to get them ready to send to the schools on Thursdays.
“I love my volunteers,” Hawn said. “Some stay an hour and a half. Some stay two. We have a lot of churches who will come here throughout the week to help.”
During the school year, the program clocks in an average of 300 volunteer hours per month.
That 7-pound bag of food also becomes the start of bigger conversations with families who are struggling with food insecurity.
“I’ve had several parents reach out and say we appreciate it. Is there anything else you can do because this is our situation,” Hawn said. “I’ll tell them about The Corner Table’s Community Kitchen where we have the frozen meals program.”
Last year she helped school guidance counselors connect 15 families from the Backpack Program to other resources.
Hawn has come to see that simple 7-pound bag of food as so much more.
“It’s going to mean the world to somebody, and it may change their outlook on life,” she said.
Want to help? Email Aundrea at backpack@thecornertable.org or call 828-464-0355.