Fighting Childhood Hunger with a Food Drive, One Backpack at a Time.

The Kidzz Helping Kidzz Advisory Board is committed to making a difference, and each spring, we turn our focus toward one of the most pressing challenges in Kitsap County: youth food insecurity.

Since 2018, addressing food insecurity has been a core initiative of our Advisory Board. We have partnered with the Bremerton Backpack Brigade, a nonprofit providing weekend meals for students in need across eight elementary schools in Bremerton. The number of families struggling with hunger continues to rise, and today, the Backpack Brigade serves 286 families every week—a number that underscores the growing need in our community.

Packing with a Purpose.

Each month, our Advisory Board members dedicate their time to helping pack backpacks at the Bremerton Backpack Brigade pantry. Over the years, they have become incredibly efficient, with Director, Sherrill Gross noting that our team holds the record—packing 286 backpacks in under an hour!

During our most recent packing session, our youth volunteers filled 186 backpacks with fresh produce, shelf-stable milk, juice, and other nutritious, kid-friendly items. Each backpack is labeled according to family size, ensuring that every household receives an appropriate amount of food. These backpacks will be delivered to schools, where staff discreetly distribute them to students in need. The following Monday, the empty backpacks return, ready to be refilled for the next weekend.

Expanding Our Reach: The 2025 Food Drive.

Food insecurity is a widespread issue, affecting 27,730 residents in Kitsap County, including 5,612 children under 18 (2023 Kitsap County Community Needs Assessment). Recognizing the urgent need, we launched our second Kidzz Helping Kidzz Food Drive, focusing on supporting low-income families in Bremerton and South Kitsap—areas with the highest poverty rates and disadvantaged educational outcomes.

Our 2025 goal was to place 70 food collection boxes throughout the community. Thanks to overwhelming support, we exceeded expectations, distributing 90 boxes—20 more than planned! These collection boxes are placed in local businesses, schools, and organizations, helping us gather nonperishable food items for families in need.

Making It Happen: Our Volunteer Team.

Distributing 90 collection boxes required careful coordination and a dedicated group of volunteers. Each volunteer managed a designated route, ensuring every box reached its location.

Route A: South Kitsap & Bremerton

Volunteers: Jen & Adam Wiren

Jen and Adam, longtime supporters of our food and toy drives, took charge of this route like seasoned pros. Armed with determination (and probably a solid playlist), they made sure every collection box found a home. Jen’s impressive door-knocking skills might just qualify her for a second career in sales—her persistence has helped us secure a record number of locations!

Route B: Silverdale & North Kitsap

Volunteer: Katie Walz

With the most collection boxes on her route, Katie tackled the streets of Silverdale and North Kitsap like a logistics mastermind. Dodging traffic, navigating back roads, and making quick stops, she delivered each box with the efficiency of a seasoned delivery driver—minus the questionable driving skills. If there were an Olympic event for food drive routing, Katie would take the gold!

Route C: Churches & Schools

Volunteers: Rhandel & Beth Darner

As a school bus driver, Rhandel is no stranger to navigating local roads, making him the perfect driver for our school and church deliveries. Meanwhile, Beth expertly handled navigation and ensured each collection box was delivered to the right location. Their teamwork kept everything running smoothly, helping us expand our reach across the community.

How You Can Help!

We extend our gratitude to the businesses, schools, churches, and organizations that are supporting this food drive. If you’d like to contribute, you can drop off donations at one of our public collection sites found here.

Most-Needed Food Items:

• Canned chicken, tuna, ham, Vienna sausages, Spam, beans

• Peanut butter

• Breakfast cereal

• Oatmeal

• Pancake mix

• Muffin mix

• Granola bars

Contact us here or leave a Comment below to learn more about supporting the Kidzz Helping Kidzz Food Drive.

We look forward to sharing the results of our food drive soon—thank you for being part of the solution!