Children in need have access to food programs in their schools that make sure they get at least one square meal each school day.  But those programs don't cover weekends.  The Food Bank of the Southern Tier instituted the Backpack Program™ to provide nutritious, kid-friendly food for Saturdays and Sundays.  That means they have to raise three dollars per kid for each weekend in the school year.  This week Q-Country 103.7's Chris Allinger is "Walkin' the Country" to feed as many kids as possible.

"The idea is that they take a bag of food that is easy for children to prepare themselves if they have to... peanut butter, tuna fish... simple food," Allinger says.  "While the kids are on the playground they discreetly put it in their backpacks inside the school.  The kids take it home and they've got enough to get them through the weekend.  Many times the families share in the food that they're getting.  Three dollars.  For $120 that child can be taken care of for the whole school year."


Allinger is the WQNY (Q-Country) morning host and Brand Manager and Cayuga Radio Group's Operations Manager.  At noon Wednesday he was in Lansing, exactly half way in time and close to half way in miles.  At that point he had already raised close to $10,000 with a big boost Tuesday from the Cornell Athletics & Physical Education staff's $5,000 donation.  Town employees and well-wishers were lined up to greet him and put donations into his backpack as he hiked in from Groton.


Each day local restaurants provide food and drink at scheduled stops to start the day, at lunch time, and at the end of the day.  Booker's Back Yard brought chicken salad sliders, biscuits, salad and cold water for lunch Wednesday and also a stack of $25 gift certificates for Allinger to give out to people who donate more than $25.

"I listen to Q-Country all the time," says owner Reggie Briggs.  "I think what Chris is doing should be inspiring to everyone.  It's easy for people like me to donate a little food or some cash, but for him to walk 90 miles across the county and do it for such a great cause is unbelievable."


Each day this week began with Allinger's wife Brigid driving him to the starting place for the day.  While Allinger is Walkin' The Country Marty Brandon is filling in as host of the Q-Country morning show.  Allinger breaks in a couple of times per hour with reports he records and edits on a cell phone, then emails to Brandon for broadcast.  After stopping to meet people and accept donations he begins the day's walk.  After a lunch stop he continues to the location scheduled for the end of the day.  Brigid picks him up and he falls into bed so he can get up the next morning to do it again.

Wednesday's hike started at Casper's Diner in Groton before Allinger walked south to Lansing.  After his Lansing stop Allinger continued his walk to Myers Park where Tammy and Mike Milliman were waiting to give him a boat ride across Cayuga Lake to Taughannock Park, the half-way point in miles.  He was in Trumansburg around 5 where Ron Don's provided food.  The next morning he picked up in trumansburg at the Falls Tavern, to Enfield where the Fire Department Auxiliary is providing food, and then Stella's Barn in Newfield.  Today he plans to start in Newfield, walk to Danby, then Ithaca College, and end up at Wegmans Friday evening.


Allinger decided to walk around Tompkins County last year after Brigid told him about the Backpack Program™.   She is on the board and development committee for the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.  It made sense -- walking the country/country music, wearing a backpack for the Backpack Program™.  And feeding children.

"I thought what a great idea," Allinger says.  "Oh my God we need that.  Oh my God it's only three dollars!  So the more you learn the more you say this makes so much sense, and it's so inexpensive to make happen."

Allinger says his goal is to raise three dollars because that will help one child.  But clearly he is thrilled to be raising much more than that.  Last year he raised $20,000.  The program is not in all Tompkins County schools, so he would like to raise more money now to help more children.

"That job is not done yet," he says.  "We need to expand it further.  But once you start expanding you have to have the funds to sustain it.  That's why we're out for Walkin' the Country 2 -- to do it again."


While Allinger added 10 more miles in his second year, he says he would love to stretch the route even more.  Last year he walked 80 miles and by the end of today he knows he'll have hiked 90 miles because he drove the route beforehand.

"I'd love to make this whole thing 103 miles, because that's our frequency," he says.  "I don't think we're going to hit it this year.  Last year we made about 80 miles, and it's a little more this year, but I don't think we're going to make 103.

In 2012, over 200 children participated in the BackPack ProgramTM each week in Tompkins County.  Allinger says the Food Bank agreed to keep the money he raises in Tompkins County.  Across the entire region the Food Bank of the Southern Tier covers, the program served a total of 1,881 children in 26 school districts across Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties in the 2011-2012 school year.

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