Power Packs.

Sounds like some sort of special energy concoction. Some kind of sustenance that invigorates superheroes, enabling them to do amazing things.

Some things are exactly what they seem to be.

"The name (Power Packs Project) comes from the pack of food we provide to help kids succeed in school and have academic success," said Brad Peterson, Power Packs Project's executive director. "We want to empower families to help them make good nutrition decisions. Studies have shown that children need nutrition early in life to have their brains fully develop. We're providing that nutrition. Studies have always shown that kids sitting in school with empty bellies can't learn."

A Power Pack is a meal kit that includes the recipe and ingredients for a simple, single meal, as well as some basic staples like healthy snacks, fresh produce and milk, to help families over the weekend. Located at 1915 Olde Homestead Lane, Suite 102, Lancaster, Power Packs Project distributes and delivers its food mainly on Wednesdays and Thursdays in advance of the weekend.

"One in eight kids in Lancaster County is food insecure," said Peterson. "They may not know where their next meal is coming from, and the numbers continue to rise. It's kids your kids go to school with, it's kids of the people you work with, it's your neighbor's kids. Who we serve are kids who are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals at school. Families can sign up for a week, a month or for as long as they need assistance."

Power Packs Project assists food-insecure students in the school districts of Cocalico, Columbia, Donegal, Hempfield, Lampeter-Strasburg, Manheim Township, Penn Manor, Warwick and Lancaster in Lancaster County; students in the Annville-Cleona, Cornwall-Lebanon, Eastern Lebanon County, Northern Lebanon and the Lebanon city school districts in Lebanon County; and students in the Eastern York School District in York County. Beginning this fall, the program will also aid kids in the Conestoga Valley and Red Lion school districts.

"The Conestoga Valley School District came to us; they saw a need," said Peterson. "It's a benefit for them for their kids to have better nutrition. Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services is doing great work, and Power Packs is here to work in cooperation with them. We're complementing each other. It's not either/or; it's and."

Last school year, Power Packs Project distributed a total of 440,000 pounds of food through 95 sites and deliveries. Power Packs receives donated food from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Harrisburg and through partnerships and collaborations with other organizations.

"There are a lot of misconceptions that it's an urban problem," said Peterson. "But it's an urban, suburban and rural problem. There are a lot of people out there struggling with food problems. It's hard for some to comprehend that people are going hungry."

Power Packs Project, which was founded in 2005 and was incorporated as a nonprofit four years later, is manned by a staff of five full-time employees and a part-timer. Much of the organization's packaging and delivery work is performed through 6,000 hours of annual volunteer commitment.

For additional information about Power Packs Project, go to http://www.powerpacksproject.org.