Blessings in a Backpack is Back-to-School
Summer is officially over and more than 1,000 Blessings in a Backpack programs across the country are back in session. Bags of food are going home every Friday of the school year and children are getting the nutrition they need for improved health and academic success because of donors like YOU. Thank you!
People Are the Heart and Soul of Blessings in a Backpack
But how did so many people find out about Blessings?
From People. People Magazine.
Learn more about Blessings in a Backpack’s growth and impact since being People Magazine’s 2012 Charity of the Year.
In 2012, People featured Blessings in a Backpack as its 'Charity of the Year' printing four stories about our programs throughout the calendar year. Those articles gave us more exposure than we ever thought possible.

When People published its "Help Feed a Child" series, we were serving 44,000 kids. You might have read one of the articles about the weekend hunger gap that 13 million American kids face during the school year. You also learned about our efforts, as the only national nonprofit dedicated to providing food for kids on the weekends. 

We just started a new school year feeding more than 87,300 kids – that’s a lot of hunger-free weekends that you helped provide over the past six years! 

While our volunteer teams, with your support, pack the backpacks of 87,300 kids every Friday this school year, many more kids are living with food insecurity. In our 10th year as a 501(c)(3), we are hoping to fill more of that need. We have an opportunity to feed more kids on the weekend than ever before and hope you will help us continue to feed the kids this weekend! 

Vera Bradley + Blessings in a Backpack
Vera Bradley partnered with Blessings in a Backpack to donate 25,000 backpacks to children in need this fall. We traveled across the country to seven schools to surprise students in-person with a fun carnival filled with games, snacks and of course, their new backpack. Some famous friends who are also passionate about the cause joined in on the fun!
Talent: Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East (Chicago); Jade Roper Tolbert and Tanner Tolbert (Louisburg, Kan.); Jason and Brittany Aldean and RaeLynn (Nashville, Tenn.); Witney Carson (Ft. Myers, Fla.); JoJo Fletcher (Dallas, Texas); Sarah Michelle Gellar (Los Angeles); and Danielle and Kevin Jonas (New Brunswick, N.J.).

By the Numbers:
  • Total Media Impressions (To Date): More than 522.7 Million
  • 20% increase in our website users, new users, and total sessions
  • 70 + Volunteer Interest Forms

Blessings in a Backpack Day

Mayors and government officials across the America filled backpacks with food for students in their communities as a part of the fifth annual "Blessings in a Backpack Day." More than 75 city leaders participated in this national day of awareness, including 55 mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors Fall Leadership Meeting. In addition, 13 corporate partners hosted packing events during Blessings in a Backpack Week.
Cities that participated in "Blessings in a Backpack Day" include Baltimore, Md., Des Moines, Iowa (pictured), Denver, Co., Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Fla., Louisville, Ky., New Orleans, La., Syracuse, N.Y., and many more.
Blessings in a Backpack is Celebrating 10 Years!
This school year we are celebrating a decade of feeding kids on the weekends and looking forward to the future. To ensure the kids in your community have full bellies over the weekend, you help us send them home on Fridays with backpacks full of satisfying and nutritional food. Thank you for all that you do. Blessings wouldn't be celebrating its 10th birthday without YOU!

Click here to learn more about our birthday party plans and how you can join in the celebration!