The Shaler Area Backpack Initiative, which provides food to students in need, has won a $25,000 grant from the State Farm Neighborhood Assist program.

State Farm conducts a nationwide online contest each year soliciting votes for a favorite charity. A total of 72,000 people cast 1.8 million votes this year, and the Shaler Area School District program was one of the 40 vote-getters to receive $25,000 grants.

Each year, the district’s backpack initiative sends home more than 10,000 weekend bags of food. The program is run entirely by volunteers and totally dependent on donations.

The $25,000 grant will ensure that the initiative can provide food for the entire school year to all applicants and will not have to cap enrollment. And it will now include healthier food items that currently are too expensive for the existing budget, according to the school district.

The community is invited to a celebration and a check presentation at 7 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Shaler Area Middle School auditorium.

“We are so appreciative for the entire community’s support of this program and everyone who voted for the Backpack Initiative,” district superintendent Sean Aiken said in a news release. “This money will help the volunteer teachers, students and community members who run the program reach so many more students in our district.”

First Published: December 16, 2016, 5:00 a.m.