One in six Washington children experiences hunger on a regular basis. Nearly one-third of Seattle Public School students receive Free-and-Reduced Price Meals. The Healthy HIP Packs Program, a weekend food backpack program, provides an important food resource for the children in these families when school meals are not available.

HIP Packs provide nutritious and kid-friendly foods, enough for six meals and two snacks per child. When choosing foods to include in the pack, HIP creates complete meals and emphasizes whole grains, dairy, high-quality proteins, fresh fruits, and products with no added sugars. Backpacks can be tailored to meet cultural or other special dietary needs. Families are provided with additional food boxes during school breaks.

HIP collaborates with the Seattle and Shoreline school districts and community partners to make the HIP Packs Program possible. School staff works with parents to identify children receiving Free-and-Reduced Price Meals who are at risk of hunger over the weekend. HIP volunteers deliver the HIP Packs to participating schools every Friday where they are discreetly distributed. In the 2019-20 school year, HIP provided over 148,000 vital weekend meals for Seattle and Shoreline children through the HIP Packs Program.