Weekend Backpack Program Tailored for Ethnic and Dietary Food Preferences: Nutrition Quality, Program Usage, and Parent Satisfaction

Objective: We documented the nutritional quality of a weekend food backpack program with 5 bag types tailored for ethnic food preferences and reported participants’ satisfaction and usage of the program. Methods: The Healthy Eating Index-2020 scores were calculated to assess the quality of the food items by bag type. We also recruited 49 caregivers of elementary school-aged children in Minnesota using multilingual flyers from December, 2022 to May, 2023. Caregivers’ program satisfaction and usage were assessed through online surveys. Results: The Healthy Eating Index-2020 total scores ranged from 67 to 83 across the bag type. Participants liked 90% of the food items and used all or some of the items in 79% of the bags. Conclusion and Implications: A tailored weekend food backpack program can provide high-quality food with high satisfaction and usage. Further research is needed to determine whether such tailored programs can improve food security and diet quality.