Catchfence

Money will help feed school children in Wyandotte County

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Dec. 16, 2010) –Each year, thousands of children across the country receive free and reduced-price school meals during the week, but are at risk of going hungry on the weekends. That includes Wyandotte County where approximately 1,540 children are enrolled in Harvesters BackSnack program. Kansas Speedway is making a $15,000 donation to Harvesters through the Community Foundation of Wyandotte County to help fund the BackSnack program. The Community Foundation of Wyandotte County has also agreed to match the donation.

“When I learned about the BackSnack program and that 1,540 children in Wyandotte County were enrolled in the program, I really wanted to be able to help,” said Kansas Speedway President Patrick Warren. “Kansas Speedway is a part of this community and I felt this was the right opportunity for us to help make a difference in our community. To see the statistics on how this program has helped the children involved is staggering. I encourage everyone to see how they can get involved to help our local school children.”

The program, which began as a pilot project in 2004, provides backpacks of food to low-income children for the weekend. Harvesters provides the food and backpacks, and a partnering organization cleans them out and packs them with food each week. Schools distribute the backpacks on Friday to students who then bring them back on Monday to start the process again. This year alone, the BackSnack program will feed approximately 13,000 students each weekend in Harvesters 26-county service area.

It takes $200 to provide one backpack to one child for the entire school year and anyone interested in participating in the program is encouraged to contact Harvesters online (www.harvesters.org) or by phone at 816.929.3010.

About Kansas Speedway:

Kansas Speedway, which opened in 2001, annually hosts all three of NASCAR’s national series and will begin hosting two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in 2011. Additional information on Kansas Speedway can be found at www.kansasspeedway.com.

- Kansas Speedway, Press Release