Touch of Faith Family Services, Inc. (dba BackPack Buddies) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to one of the most vital needs in our community: ensuring no child has to face the weekend with an empty stomach. Founded in 2013, our mission is to stand in the gap for children facing food insecurity, providing them with the nutritional support they need to grow, learn, and thrive.
Food insecurity is a socio-economic condition where a household lacks reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. For a child, this isn’t just about “hunger”; it’s the persistent uncertainty of not knowing where their next meal is coming from. In central Alabama, an estimated 1 in 4 children currently deal with this reality. For many of these students, the free or reduced-price meals they receive at school are the only consistent nutrition they get all week.
When the school bell rings on Friday afternoon, a “hunger gap” begins. Without the safety net of school breakfast and lunch, these children are left without the fuel their growing bodies and brains require. This lack of nutrition leads to more than just physical discomfort—it causes emotional stress, anxiety, and developmental hurdles that can follow a child into the classroom and beyond.
Our organization was born when our founders, Joe and Sheilah Vick, were moved after having lunch with their granddaughter at her school. They witnessed a heartbreaking contrast: while some children discarded uneaten apples, others watched in desperation, wishing they could take that food home. This experience led them to research the depth of local hunger and discover the national “Blessings in a Backpack” model, which they used to build our program.
Today, BackPack Buddies works to eliminate that weekend hunger gap by providing easy-to-prepare, nutritious meals directly to the children who need them most. By stepping in during the out-of-school hours, we provide the stability these families need to make ends meet and ensure that food is a right, not a luxury.
Our goal is simple: to make sure that when Monday morning comes, every child returns to the classroom healthy, happy, and ready to succeed. By meeting their most basic needs over the weekend, we empower our students to focus on their education rather than their hunger, giving them a fair shot at a bright future.
Currently, our organization feeds over 1,000 children each week during the school year in Pell City, St. Clair County, and Leeds City Schools.
