The Bath BackPack Program is not just helping feed students — it’s giving students valuable experience as well.

Two recent announcements from the program showcase the multiple ways its lending students a hand. First, the BBPP, in partnership with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, has received a matching gift from Hannaford supermarkets to help expand their program to reach students at the Fisher-Mitchell School next school year.

From now until September, Hannaford will double the impact of community donations, up to $2,500. The BBPP provides snacks and weekend meals for children who are uncertain about their next meal. The BBPP Steering Committee is seeking Bath community organizations and individual donors to help maximize this opportunity and raise $5,000 to support food-insecure students at Fisher-Mitchell Elementary School. At least 71 percent of the students at Fisher- Mitchell receive free or reduced meals.

The second piece of news is that the program’s Steering Committee has partnered with the Commercial Arts Department at the Bath Regional Career and Technical Center to design and produce a BBPP community public relations brochure. The committee worked with instructor Julie Kenny and three senior students — Joseph Streb, Tristan Blackman and Keegan Arsenault — to create the brochure design. Each of the students came up with their own designs for two weeks, with Streb’s chosen as the final design, with the others’ work incorporated into the finished brochure.

The Commercial Arts Department is also in the process of producing other graphic arts products to help promote the BBPP mission to feed hungry children. Copies of the Bath BackPack Program brochure can be obtained by contacting [email protected] or by contacting Kenny at [email protected].

The Bath United Methodist Church, the BBPP Community Partners and the BBPP Steering Committee are deeply committed to securing weekend meals and snacks for Bath school children who are uncertain about their next meal. Over the past eight months nearly 75 individuals and several local businesses and organizations have donated including: American Legion, Bath Iron Works, Bath Savings, Bath United Methodist Church, Davenport Trust, First Federal Savings, Georgetown Elementary School, Grace Episcopal Church, Hannaford Supermarkets, Now You’re Cooking, Soggy Dog Designs Photography, and Wags and Whiskers.

For more information about a matching donation, contact Irving Ouellette at [email protected] or Cathy Leonard at [email protected] or phone the Bath United Methodist Church at (207) 443- 4707. For more information about volunteering, contact Brenda Ouellette at [email protected] or visit BBPP on Facebook. Tax deductible donations can be taken or mailed to the Bath Savings Institution at 105 Front St., Bath, ME 04530, or mailed to the Good Shepherd Food Bank, P.O. Box 1807, Auburn, ME 04211-1807.