The Bremerton Backpack Brigade is a feed the hungry nonprofit organization that provides a supplemental food source on weekends for children who suffer from food insecurity throughout the eight Bremerton Elementary schools.
Food insecurity is a growing challenge in our community. The number of families who experience food insecurity continue to rise each week.
Currently, the Bremerton Backpack Brigade provides 360 families with backpacks filled with food pantry donations each week.
Today Kidzz Helping Kidzz Advisory Board members filled backpacks with practical, kid friendly food bank donations, including fresh fruit and vegetables, shelf-stable milk and juice.
Each backpack has a number on it which identifies the number of members in the family. Kidzz Helping Kidzz packed the appropriate amount of food according to the number of family members placed on each backpack.
The backpacks, filled with food pantry donations will then be delivered to the elementary schools in the morning, where school staff will discreetly distribute them to the students who are enrolled in the backpack program.
Each backpack contains enough food bank donations for the entire family. The students return the backpacks to their school on Mondays, to be picked up and refilled for the following weekend.
Although the contents of the backpacks vary each week, today Kidzz Helping Kidzz packed the following items:
“Helper” Meals
Canned Chicken/Tuna
Macaroni & Cheese
Fruit cup/Pudding cup
Chili/Refried Beans
Popcorn
Cereal
Hot Cocoa & Apple Cider Mix
Shelf Stable Milk/Juice
Canned Vegetables/Fruit
Granola Bars
Soup
Fresh fruit and vegetables will be added to the food donation backpacks in the morning before they are distributed to the schools.
Kidzz Helping Kidzz has partnered with the Bremerton Backpack Brigade since 2018.
The kids from our Advisory Board are passionate about helping kids with food insecurity and delight in packing free, nutritious meals to low income families.
Research shows that programs that help feed the hungry increase school attendance, decrease behavior problems, improve concentration abilities and improve academic achievement.
Over the summer, we hope to assist with more of the Bremerton Backpack Brigade food drives.
If you have a kid (or are one yourself) please contact us here to learn more about participating in one of our programs that makes a difference in the lives of other kids and families.
Should you have interest in learning more about the great work that Bremerton Backpack Brigade does or how to donate food, you can check out their website at https://www.bremertonbackpackbrigade.org/
Kidzz Helping Kidzz strongly supports the amazing work of this organization and will continue to pack backpacks next school year to help solve food scarcity for families and children in need.