As a classroom volunteer, our founder-Carrie Torres has seen childhood hunger firsthand. In 2015, during a breakfast/lunch party in her daughter’s classroom, the teacher asked us to make sure that 2 specific children got as much food as they wanted so that they were well nourished and not lacking when starting the weekend. As she looked around the room all she could see were kids playing and laughing and abandoned plates full of food carelessly tossed on the desks. Then she saw them…two boys, one in each corner, separate from the festivities. Both devouring their food with euphoria and desperation all at the same time. That is the day that her life changed and so did her perspective on poverty and hunger.
Provision Packs is a food supplementary program aimed to supply nutritional assistance to low income children and their families with an ease of accessibility and execution. Many PreK-8th grade children are reliant upon the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) for their food and nutrition during the school week, but when the weekend comes there is limited or no consistent access to food. Now, more than ever, your support is needed to close the gap on childhood hunger and the 1 in 5 children facing food insecurity.
Since 2015 Provision Packs has provided well rounded nutritional food for children on the weekend and extended breaks during the school year. In 2020 we have continued to supply food during the COVID pandemic and we are currently working with over 20 schools and over 1000 children per week. These children are often reliant on the free and reduced lunch program at their school for their daily sustenance and nutrition. Our goal, through these packs, is to offer support and to relieve some of the burdens fort both the parents and the children. Most importantly, we hope that these packs provide the blessing of nutrition and bring comfort to the children in our community so that our youth can focus on their academics and become healthy, successful thriving adults.
Through our program, and with the support from our donors, fundraisers, and volunteers, we can feed kids and reduce hunger, one pack at a time. Volunteers are needed weekly to help pack and deliver the bags to our partner schools. Here are some of our news articles.
Ormond nonprofit strives to reduce child poverty in Volusia-Flagler “one pack at a time”. READ ARTICLE
Everyday Hero: Volusia mom takes on childhood hunger with Provision Packs. READ ARTICLE
Provision Pack’s Black and White Gala celebrates success, launches new endowment fund. READ ARTICLE
Provision Packs was founded out of a deeply personal experience when Carrie Torres, Founder and CEO, learned that many children in her community were returning to school on Mondays hungry because they lacked consistent meals over the weekend. After witnessing this need firsthand, she took action by assembling weekend food packs from her own kitchen, initially serving just a few children. What started as a small, grassroots effort quickly grew as others joined her mission. With the support of volunteers, local schools, and community partners, Provision Packs has since expanded to serve hundreds of children across Volusia and Flagler counties — ensuring that students not only have access to food but also the dignity, comfort, and confidence to thrive in and out of the classroom.
Behind every pack is a child who would otherwise face the weekend hungry. This video tells the Provision Packs story in the words of the people living it. Press play to meet our founder, Carrie Torres, and see how one moment in a single classroom grew into a weekend lifeline for children across Volusia and Flagler Counties.
What started in 2014 with three packs at one school now reaches more than 1,000 children every week across 20 schools, with 14,000 meals going to kids right here in our community. These are not numbers on a page. They are neighbors, classmates, and the children sitting two desks away. Watch the story, and when you are ready, join the pack. Your support is what keeps a child fed on Saturday morning.
“What started in 2014 with three packs at one school has grown into something we never could have imagined. A small act of faith turned into a movement, and that movement has never stopped growing.
Today, Provision Packs feeds over 1,000 children every single week across 22 schools in Volusia and Flagler Counties, delivering 14,000 meals a week to kids who need them most. These are real kids, in our own backyard, who would otherwise go hungry over the weekend.
Back then, we said, ‘We’ll do this until we find the cavalry.’ Turns out, the cavalry was all of you, and we are so grateful you showed up.”
