Hungry children in the southern Kentucky area are receiving a helping hand from the community.

Several local businesses and organizations have been collecting food items for the past two months as part of Feeding America’s BackPack Program.

The program was started to help feed impoverished children who might not have food on weekends.

Food collected will be given to school children in backpacks every Friday afternoon.

The food provided is non-perishable and nutritious.

The program is ongoing in 21 Kentucky counties, including Warren County.

A few local organizations have had major drives to collect food for this program, including the Bowling Green Area Lodging Association.

Goods collected by several local hotels were presented to a Feeding America representative on Tuesday.