Food that was prepared, but never served

A pilot program that started at an elementary school in Elkhart, Indiana, has expanded. It provides food over the weekend for children who need it. Before the program started, theses children rushed to school each Monday for free breakfast, since they had little to eat over the weekend. The program is called Cultivate, and uses food that was prepared but never served.

It is then repackaged and delivered to selected students, who are given their own backpack filled with food on Fridays. Each backpack contains six different meals to eat during the weekend. "Cultivate goes to different venues and gets food," says Natalie Bickel, supervisor of student services. "So a big supplier is Notre Dame and Four Winds Casino. We also donate unused food from Elkhart Community Schools to Cultivate. It's really taken off."