PGA TOUR Wives, The Thunderbirds and Fry’s team fight child hunger through Blessings in a Backpack

School assembly and backpack stuffing took place on February 24th

The PGA TOUR Wives Association, The Thunderbirds and Fry’s Food Stores teamed up to support Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing weekend nourishment to school children on the Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program. During the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the group came together for a school assembly and backpack stuffing event at Nevitt Elementary School in Phoenix.

Every Friday, kids in schools participating in the Blessings in a Backpack program receive a backpack filled with easy-to-prepare and ready-to-eat food. Monday, the kids return the backpacks, ready to learn. Fry’s Food Stores delivers a new shipment of food to the school mid week and then the cycle repeats the next Friday. Typical backpacks include ready-to-eat food items such as Fruit Roll Ups, juice boxes, instant noodles, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, cereal, Pop Tarts, etc. Blessings in a Backpack does its best to make sure the food is kid-friendly, meaning it’s lightweight, healthy, non-perishable and easy-to-prepare. Students who participate in the Blessings in a Backpack program show marked improvement in school attendance, test scores, behavior and health. Food is an essential building block, and in this case truly a blessing, especially to a hungry child!

USA Harvest founder Stan Curtis started Blessings in a Backpack for children who get their best meals at school, giving them backpacks of food every Friday to take home and share with their families when they’re away from their main source of nutrition. The program serves more than 106 schools and 26,000 children in the U.S. and Canada. For more information on Blessings in a Backpack, visit www.blessingsinabackpack.org.

PGA TOUR Wives Association, Inc., is a Florida not-for-profit corporation organization to render support and provide assistance to needy children and their families through the means of charitable events. The Association was incorporated in 1988 by wives of professional golfers on PGA TOUR. For more information about the Association, visit the website at www.pgatourwives.org.

Fry’s Food Stores is headquartered in Tolleson, Arizona. The company employs nearly 18,000 Arizona residents. This year, Fry’s celebrates 50 years of serving Arizonan’s with fresh food at famous low prices. Fry’s Food Stores is a proud member of the Kroger Co. based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.frysfood.com.