It’s been more than 15 years since a meeting between former United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN) executive director Shelley Valentini and former Mesabi East school nurse Shelly Whiting were continually interrupted by students complaining of stomach aches.

Valentini called Whiting and said UWNEMN wanted to pilot a program to help prevent those Monday stomach aches. In 2025, UWNEMN’s Buddy Backpacks are now available in every school across the Iron Range and Koochiching County. Since its inception, local donors and volunteers have united to pack and deliver more than 300,000 “Buddy Backpacks” – which are bags of food with shelf-stable, child-friendly, nutritious food items intended for breakfast, lunch, and dinners over the weekend.

Buddy Backpacks go home with students who are likely to rely on school meals. During the school year, students receive the bags of food before weekends and holiday breaks to fill the meal gaps. In recent years, Buddy Backpacks have also become available at all of UWNEMN’s free summer lunch sites.

Buddy Backpacks was first piloted in 2010 and made available to all schools in their service area in 2011. To make a year-end donation in support of Buddy Backpacks, visit the United Way NEMN Website.