The End of the School Year and Looking Ahead

Another school year in the books, and what a year it was!  We set new records for number of kids served – up to 5,300 kids per week by the end of May.  We expanded our menus and introduced pre-school bags to serve a growing population of very small children in need of our services.  We had more individual volunteers and more corporate groups helping to prepare, pack, and deliver weekend hunger bags than ever before.  And we began serving a number of independent schools, expanding our reach from 4 to 5 school districts and from 96 to 102 schools.  We said “yes” to as many kids as we could possibly feed, and we are thrilled to have been able to do that for so many kids.

We also had a very busy calendar, full of new or growing events.  We hosted our first ever Run To End Weekend Hunger, a 5K that raised $8,500 in its inaugural year.  We expanded our Winter Gala and raised five times the funds than the previous year – a whopping $260,000!  And we kicked off a new series of Educational Luncheons in February with the insight and wisdom of Dr. Benjamin Daniels of the University of Washington. 

We are so grateful for all the local businesses that stepped up to support our mission this year in ways great and small.  From the Seattle Kraken’s Puck Drop Grant of $50,000 to the lemonade stand that donated $20, we received so much love and support from our community.  Thank you to everyone who hosted a fundraiser, gave a percentage of sales, awarded a corporate grant, or sponsored an employee match.  Every dime went to buy food for our weekend hunger bags.  With your help, we sent out over 147,000 bags this school year.

And finally, thank you to all the individuals who gave so generously, whether in cash or in-kind, to help END weekend hunger for homeless and food insecure kids.  Your generosity and compassion can’t be beat, and Seattle’s kids are lucky to have such a loving and supportive community in which to grow and thrive.

But though this school year is ending, we aren’t wrapping up.  Far from it – we have a big summer planned, with concerts, community partnerships, conferences, and events in our future.  Bookmark our events page to keep up to date on all the upcoming fun.

Coming Up at Backpack Brigade

We’re looking forward to a fun-filled summer and are gearing up for a bigger, better, and brighter 2025-2026 school year!