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Belmont County Farm Bureau is hosting an event in participation with the Outreach Program, to package meals to be used by four schools in Belmont County that have expressed a need. The schools are Barnesville, Bellaire, St. Clairsville, and Union Local. Belmont County Farm Bureau is asking for monetary donations to help reach their goal to raise $40,000.

With the $40,000, Farm Bureau will be able to package 22,222 meals. Each meal will cost Belmont County Farm Bureau $1.80 to package and each package contains six servings. A donation of $100 will provide 300 servings. Three different kinds of meals will be packaged: Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese Dinner made with real cheese, Instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, and minestrone soup. After the meals are packaged, they will be stored and distributed according to each school’s need for their number of backpacks. The number of backpacks prepared by the four schools totals 260 weekly.

Belmont County Farm Bureau will be hosting a meal packaging event on Saturday, July 20, starting at 1 p.m. at Union Local High School Gymnasium, located at 66779 Belmont Morristown Rd., Belmont, Ohio 43718. We encourage everyone and anyone to come participate at the event. It will be an amazing and life changing opportunity to help hungry kids have a hot meal to eat.

Checks may be made out to Belmont County Farm Bureau and mailed to 100 Colonel Drive, Barnesville, Ohio 43713. You may also contact the Farm Bureau office at 740-425-3681 with credit card donations. All amounts are welcome with 100% of donations going to the meals. The Outreach Program is a 501(c) 3 organization so your donation can be used as a tax write-off if desired. You will receive a letter from the Outreach Program with an explanation of your donation for your taxes. Donations will be accepted until Saturday, June 15.

If you have any concerns or questions about the backpack event Belmont County Farm Bureau is hosting, please call the office at 740-425-3681 or the event coordinator Devin Cain at 740-391-0869.

Belmont County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees: Rusty Winland (President), Jerry Ebbert (Vice President), Andy Barricklow, Devin Cain, Carol Carpenter, Alex Davidson, Brenda Hoskinson, Marilynn Lucas, Carman Mengon, Clyde Repik, Amanda Wharton, and Martha Winland.

Local television stations interviewed Devin Cain about the Backpack Food Program. The news clips aired April 5, 2019 on WTRF 7 News  and WTOV 9 News.