(WFRV) - The St. Joseph Backpack Food Assistance Program distributed nearly 43,000 meals to students in eight school districts for the 2024-2025 school year.

Each meal contained eight ready-to-eat healthy meal items that students would take home with them over the weekend.

The participating schools said that students felt less stressed when heading home.

"That program is for children from kindergarten through high school and so the teachers in each school determined what the best way to get that to the kids was but generally at the end of the week they would get that bag to take home and have something to eat," said Monica Claire, St. Joseph Food Program Executive Director.

Schools also reported that students in the program felt more ready to learn on Mondays.

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