As long as child hunger persists, none of us can truly rest

Feeding Empty Little Tummies is dedicated to feeding Manatee County’s most needy – homeless and food insecure students – one backpack at a time!

An Elementary school is a place where the first social and community life of a child starts. It becomes a second home for boys and girls, all of whom are naturally curious about the world around them, as well as excited about learning. Unfortunately,  there’s approximately 3,500 homeless in Manatee County, and many of these are children.

In 2010 Jane L Evers introduced Feeding Empty Little Tummies to three Manatee County public schools.  Today, Jane’s vision to provide nutritious meals to homeless students is still being fulfilled by our dedicated board, volunteers and community leaders who service 32 schools and over 800 homeless and food insecure children.

Each child in the F.E.L.T. backpack program is pre-qualified by Project Heart, the Manatee School District’s Title X Homeless Education Program, providing education related support services for students who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Project Heart comes under the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act that provides defined qualifications.

These include children and youth sharing housing due to the loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason, living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations, living in emergency or transitional shelters, or living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, as well as children awaiting permanent Foster Care.