Our Approach:

All Baltimore City schoolchildren are provided breakfast and lunch at school each day. However, many of the students suffer from food insecurity, lacking sufficient funds to provide them with food when school is not in session.

We provide child-friendly, nutritious food directly to children in need over the weekends.

We believe that a child does not live in isolation; therefore, each backpack contains enough food to feed three to four people for the weekend.

All food is packaged in four set menus, including milk, proteins, vegetables, cereal and fruit. The amount of food in the bags increases weekly throughout the month to compensate for the fact that a family’s funds decrease as the month progresses.

Fresh fruit is included in every backpack of food.

Additional food is added when there is a three- or four-day weekend. These extended weekends can mean that the students would have little or no access to food for more than 100 hours.

Our Mission:

The mission of Weekend Backpacks is to improve the lives of students affected by food insecurity in Baltimore.

Food Insecurity in America

  • 1 in 5 children across America don’t have enough to eat.
  • More than 13 million children faced hunger in 2022.
  • According to the USDA, one in every five children is unsure where they will get their next meal.
  • The impact of hunger is both immediate and long term.

What is the impact of Food Insecurity?

  • Children may sleep poorly because of hunger pain. Those children will go to school and struggle to learn because They’re tired and their minds are weak from lack of nutrition.
  • These immediate needs have long-lasting consequences. The physical and emotional stress of ongoing hunger can lead to depression and feelings of hopelessness.
  • A lack of nutrition in children can cause cascading health consequences.

The Schools We Serve

As of January 2024

  • Abbottston Elementary School
  • Arlington Elementary/Middle School
  • Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle School
  • Arundel Elementary School
  • Barclay Elementary/Middle School
  • Career Academy
  • Cecil Elementary School
  • Collington Square Elementary/Middle School
  • Commodore John Rogers
  • Creative City Public Charter School
  • Cross Country Elementary School
  • Dorothy I. Height Elementary School
  • Edgewood Elementary School
  • Fallstaff Elementary/Middle School
  • Francis Scott Key & Thomas Johnson
  • Furley Elementary School
  • George Washington
  • Govans Elementary School
  • Gwynns Falls Elementary School
  • Harford Heights
  • Harlem Park Elementary School
  • Hazelwood Elementary/Middle School
  • Healthcare for the Homeless
  • Hilton Elementary School
  • James McHenry
  • John Ruhrah Elementary/Middle School
  • Lakeland Elementary/Middle School
  • Liberty Elementary School
  • Lois T. Murray School
  • Margaret Brent
  • Mary E. Rodman Elementary School
  • Moravia Park Elementary School
  • Morrell Park Elementary School
  • Mount Royal Elementary & Middle School
  • Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital
  • New Song Academy
  • Patterson High School
  • Pimlico Elementary/Middle School
  • Rosemont Elementary/Middle School
  • Sandtown-Winchester Achievement Academy
  • Southwest Baltimore Charter School #328
  • Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle School
  • The Historic Cherry Hill Academy
  • Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle School
  • Vanguard Collegiate Middle School
  • Westport Academy
  • William S. Baer School
  • Windsor Hills Elementary/Middle School
  • Winfield Elementary
  • Yorkwood Elementary
  • Youth Opportunity Academy