Snack Pak 4 Kids San Antonio: A Church Sparks Growth From a Seed of Compassion

It’s a story about what one church can do to spark change, says Leslie Kingman, founder of Snack Pak 4 Kids San Antonio (SP4KSA) and a member of Grace Northridge Church. “We started in one school in 2012, meeting weekend hunger needs for about 60 students who were identified by their teachers as being chronically hungry. That is what we heard God putting on our hearts: one school and the students it served. What God did with that one little seed of care is pretty remarkable.”

Each Friday throughout the school year, SP4KSA is helping to fight food insecurity among at-risk children by providing supplementary food to tide them over the weekend—a time when they don’t receive meals at school and are most likely to face hunger. Every week, each child receives 11-13 name-brand snack items such as protein bars, cereal, beef sticks, crackers and sports drinks. Beyond addressing hunger, receiving brand-name items is “a real plus for children who do not feel ‘worthy’ of the best,” Leslie shares.

Over the past 13 years, the organization has grown dramatically. “Snack Pak 4 Kids San Antonio now serves 4,000 students in 63 schools in six school districts in Bexar County every weekend—not alone, of course,” Leslie explains. “We do it with the help of other churches, businesses, civic organizations and foundation, grant and community funding, plus over 2,000 volunteers and a small but mighty staff of one full-time and three part-time women committed to our mission and to an understanding that God is in charge!”

Grace Northridge Church, where SP4KSA was born, has been instrumental in this growth. Leslie recalls, “Grace not only launched the organization, but covered our rent, insurance and CPA services for a number of years as part of their outreach budget—which was huge! That support allowed us to focus on raising funds for actual food for kids without having to worry about the administrative costs.”

The church’s support also prepared SP4KSA to become a separate nonprofit organization in 2021. Though SP4KSA is no longer an outreach of Grace Northridge, the church continues to provide partial financial support and all volunteer support for one school. And twice a year, a group from the congregation volunteers to pack bags at the SP4KSA warehouse.

SP4KSA’s strong foundation has allowed it to expand its outreach into more “purple areas” where poverty is most extreme without having to wait for a church, civic organization, business or other partner to sponsor the program in each school that’s added. “We now look at where we are most needed and strive to meet those needs by raising money through grant writing and donations,” Leslie says. “In 2024, a family foundation provided us with a one-time matching grant of $100,000, but the money all had to be raised in the month of November! It was an incredible challenge for us, but we did it!”

Amid SP4KSA’s journey of growth was a significant hurdle: COVID-19. But God turned it into an opportunity to serve. “In March 2020, when kids did not return to school after spring break, God had us perfectly positioned to provide weekend resources as part of the drive-thru meal distributions school districts set up,” Leslie recalls. “At the peak, we were packing and providing 6,000 Snack Paks a week! We were able to find volunteers and funding to make it all work.”

The organization is now back to its original model of distributing food in schools to in-need students identified by their teachers, with 98% of its budget going directly toward providing Snack Paks to students in Bexar County. It continues to be encouraged not only by numerical growth but by the real impact it’s having in students’ lives. In a survey from the 2023-24 school year, over two thirds of teachers reported that students who received food through SP4KSA showed improvement in academic performance, behavior, health, participation and concentration. In addition, 60% saw a decrease in absenteeism. One of these teachers shares the difference SP4KSA has made for a member of her class:

“I had a student who came to school every day sleepy, unkempt and constantly hungry. I requested a Snack Pak for him, and along with cooperation with his parent, he is now healthy and thriving. He is a completely different kid. I have a lot of students for whom I’ve seen the program benefit, but I will never forget the impact it had on that particular student.”

The ability to make a difference in the lives of children in the community has driven SP4KSA since its founding, and Grace Northridge’s support has helped it grow to expand its impact far beyond the single school in which it started. Leslie shares, “Sharing the love of Christ through consistency and quality is a slow process. But look what God has done in the last 13 years to help children in San Antonio through this one small attempt. We have, indeed, seen the Lord’s faithfulness!”