Last year, 525 elementary-school children in Liberty County were served by the Backpack Buddies program, which ensures children who receive free and reduced-price school meals don’t go hungry over the weekends. This year, even more meals will be packed because the program is expanding to include 75 middle-school students and 20 Head Start preschoolers.“We are expanding the program because there is a need at the middle-school level,” said Jennifer Darsey, director of the United Way of the Coastal Empire’s Liberty office.Sixty-six percent of Liberty County public-school students were eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program as of Oct. 31, 2012, according to the most recent data posted on the Georgia Department of Education’s website. A total of 10,190 children were enrolled in the program, but 5,350 of them were considered eligible to receive free meals and 1,458 were eligible to receive reduced-price meals, for a total of 6,808 students who were eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program.