Beach Bags

You can help our community by packing a “Beach Bag” for a beach child!

The Beach Bags program provides shelf-stable meals and healthy snacks to students who might otherwise go hungry during weekends and over school breaks, including the long summer breaks. Since the program was founded in 2009, more than 154,000 Beach Bags have been distributed. During the 2019-20 school year, more than 24,400 Beach Bags were provided to our neediest students. Food-insecure students are identified for support by school staff or the Office of School Social Work Services.

Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as "households that are uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet basic needs of all their members because of insufficient money or other resources.” It is impossible to predict the impact that being deprived of food has on a child's development, but parents and teachers agree that even short-term hunger has an immediate negative impact on student alertness, behavior and academic achievement.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools, in partnership with the Virginia Beach Education Foundation, is addressing this critical need through the Beach Bags program, which is funded entirely through donations by generous community members, area businesses, nonprofit and faith-based organizations and school and student organizations. Schools and the community can help by making tax-deductible, financial contributions through the Virginia Beach Education Foundation, by collecting and donating food items, or by volunteering to assemble bags each week. Donations are accepted daily at the School Administration Building located at 2512 George Mason Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, 23456.

For more information about the Beach Bags program, email or call the Office of Family & Community Engagement at 757.263.1949.

For more information about the Beach Bags program, email or call the Office of Family & Community Engagement at 757.263.1949.

Each Beach Bag contains:

• 2- Individual-sized cereal boxes or oatmeal
• 2- 8 oz. servings of shelf-stable milk
• 2- Individual-sized meals (ravioli, spaghetti & meatballs, macaroni & cheese, etc.)
• 2- 4 oz. fruit cups and/or 100% juice boxes
• 2- Snack items (granola bars, raisins, pretzels, etc.)