With Madison County children back in school, one local organization is working to provide weekend take-home meals.
The Weekend Food for Backpacks program works with school guidance counselors to provide non-perishable, nutritious food to children who can benefit from having the items available on the weekends when school meals are not available. The program was started years ago by Terry Lawson and taken over last year by longtime supporter Rapidan Baptist Church.
In its first year, the church delivered an average of 60 bags of non-perishable food to county schools each week. The program is made possible through donations from local church groups, businesses and the Madison County Rescue Squad. Rapidan Baptist is especially grateful to the management at the Madison Food Lion, especially Chad Rosson, for their active partnership in making resources stretch as far as possible.
Parents can enroll their children in the weekend food program for the 2026-2027 school year through their child’s guidance counselor. Names are kept strictly confidential. Anyone interested in supporting the program is encouraged to contact Lesley Bell at lesleylmb@gmail.com.
