Food insecurity doesn’t just affect adults. Many local children depend on free school meals during the week. But what about weekends? Operation 143 provides backpacks full of easy to prepare food to bridge the gap, with enough for dinner Friday and breakfast, lunch, and dinner Saturday and Sunday, plus snacks and water. All items are pre-made, and no cooking is required.
Volunteers pack food and material in backpacks every weekend for kids in need in 31 schools throughout our community. There are currently 214 students in their program. Students pick up their backpacks discretely on Friday and return them on Monday.
Emmanuel supports Operation 143 with an ongoing Food Drive. We accept donations every day on the blue can located just outside the office. Once a month, the can is emptied and donations delivered to their headquarters located in Pottstown.
Would you like to help? There is their preapproved shopping list:
| Tuna To-Go Packs | NutriGrain Bars |
| Hormel Compleats Meals | Pop Tarts |
| Spaghettios | Single Serve Cereals |
| To-Go Soups | Non-refrigerated Milk |
| Canned Ravioli | Variety Snack Packs |
| Fruit in Juice Cups | Bottled Water |
| Motts Applesauce Cups | Juice Boxes |
| Chocolate Chewy Bars | Pudding Snacks |
Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church 