“My name is Ryan Fardy. I am a Junior at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago. I am an athlete and play football for Payton. I have been packing weekend food for Blessings in a Backpack since 2015, when they came to my elementary school for packing events. Since then, I have been a founding member and leader of a program of Blessings at my school.

Team Sweetness is a club at Walter Payton and a proud program of Blessings in a Backpack. We formed Team Sweetness after realizing the extent to which students in our neighborhood were food-insecure. This year, we are excited to continue to support 60 food-insecure elementary students at Franklin Fine Arts School. Team Sweetness meets weekly, on Thursdays, to pack bags for the 60 students at Franklin. We also drop the bags off at Franklin, which are dispersed to the kids requiring weekend nutrition! As a club leader, I lead the annual DIY 5k fundraiser that allows us to continue to purchase food for packing. I also correspond with Franklin and get feedback on the impact we have. Team Sweetness also brings together a great group of students with a passion for service who seek to help people in our community and who are committed to the mission of Blessings in a Backpack.”