Baltimore nonprofit packs food and school supplies for children in need

BALTIMORE -- A Baltimore nonprofit is packing food and school supplies for children in need as the new school year approaches.

According to state data, one in three Marylanders faces food insecurity. To address this, Weekend Backpacks, a Baltimore-based nonprofit, is preparing to distribute about 3,000 backpacks at 50 schools across the Baltimore area. Each backpack will be filled with essential school supplies for both young children and teenagers.

Throughout the year, the nonprofit packs food bags for 1,800 children weekly. These children rely on free and reduced meals at school and often lack access to nutritious meals outside of class. The program, which has been active for nearly 10 years, is seeing an increased demand due to current economic challenges.

"There's definitely been an increased need in the last two or three years since COVID," said Christy Keppel, executive director of Weekend Backpacks. "There was a lot of support for families during COVID and right after, and many of those have dropped off, including SNAP benefits. Also, inflation - food, gas, and other pressures on families - makes food harder to access."

Keppel noted that the nonprofit now packs about 70,000 pounds of food each month to support the local community due to the rising need.

Weekend Backpacks plans to distribute backpacks filled with school supplies to children as soon as they arrive at school next week.

"The teachers are super appreciative, and they will also ask us in January, 'Hey, do you have any more?'" Keppel said. "Oftentimes, kids come back from winter break, and they don't have those items, so we also hold some to support them mid-year."

This initiative aims to help children start the school year equipped and ready to succeed academically, alleviating some of the financial burden on their families.