PALMETTO, Fla — As students head back to school next week in Manatee County, one nonprofit is bringing food to the table to help kids succeed.

Kim Bailey is chief executive officer and president of the nonprofit Feeding Empty Little Tummies.

"They go without nutrition until they go to school on Monday morning," she said. "What we do is we ensure they have the caloric intake they need to stay healthy and vibrant, so when they come back to school Monday morning, they are ready to learn."

She said this is a problem nationwide and mentioned that homelessness is on the rise. We followed around one of their senior volunteers who has been with the nonprofit almost since the very beginning.

Theresa Smith, one of the senior volunteers who has been with the nonprofit almost since the beginning, fills big tubs with handfuls of snacks.

Feeding Empty Little Tummies is preparing meals for the first Friday of the school year. It's part of the organization's backpack program that helps feed homeless and hungry children in Manatee County.

Smith has been volunteering with the organization for more than eight years. Her desire to help began because of her mom.

"I needed something to do with my mom, who had Alzheimer's, and she lived for 13-and-a-half years and came here. She had a great life. She loved coming," she said.

Her mom died in 2019, but she has continued their hobby by volunteering once a week.

"It gives you endorphins, and you are doing something for the kids," she said.

Thousands of snacks will be delivered every Friday to more than 60 schools in Manatee County, feeding more than 1,500 students and providing nutrition to the kids over the weekend.

"You need protein to learn in school, and if they aren't getting protein, then they are getting junk stuff because it's cheaper," Smith explained.

For the first week, volunteers will distribute pudding, mac and cheese, cereal, juice boxes and more. They grab one snack from each bin for each backpack.

Volunteers will drop off the backpacks to the schools' front desk. Each student receives 2,000 calories worth of food in the backpack, to hold them over each weekend.

"Kids are our future. They need the nutrition. They need items to eat," Smith said.

It’s a helping hand from an organization dedicated to making sure no child is left behind.

It costs Feeding Empty Little Tummies $15,000 to feed the kids each week. The first day of distribution will be Friday.