Twenty Years of Service

There are millions of American children who depend on school lunches, which may often be the most filling and nutritious meal of the day for them. The need was so great that schools began serving breakfast, too. Studies show that well-fed children do better academically as well as physically. But there are only 180 school days in a year- what do those children eat on days that there is no school?

In 2005, Sam and Ed Tye presented the FCC board with an idea to feed hungry schoolchildren over the weekend- send food home with them on Fridays. Doris Moore was appointed to head the program, and she went to work assessing the need. A school principal told Doris that he had students lined up on Monday mornings waiting to get into school so they could eat breakfast. The congregation met and in that first week packed 30 bags of food that students could take home with them on Friday. It was a drop in the bucket, but it was a start.

Doris sought advice from other churches, and they wanted to get involved in the new initiative, too. That was the beginning of the Corbin Community Backpack Program, which expanded to involve many local churches, businesses, schools, and civic organizations. The program grew so much that it needed its own headquarters to store donations and give workers room to pack the bags, so the First Christian Church turned over the old parsonage next door to the backpack program.

The backpack program packs around a thousand bags for schoolchildren in Whitley and Knox Counties every weekend, and they are always in need of donations and volunteers to carry on the work. To keep up with the work of the program, and learn about its fundraising events, you can follow them at their Facebook page, Facebook group, or Instagram.

In 2025, after twenty years of dedicated work as the organization's board chairman, Doris handed over the day-to-day administration of the program to Mike Lewis. He had been working with the organization for quite some time, and we know it is in good hands. But Doris Moore made the Corbin Community Backpack Program what it is today, and she will always be remembered for that. She worked constantly to organize the program, recruit partners, stage fundraisers, and supervise the work. Despite some dubious online reports, the backpack program is going strong, and with community support, will continue as long as needed.

Your next opportunity to support the Corbin Community Backpack Program is this Friday, February 13th at the Corbin center.