Backpack Buddies of Metro Atlanta

in 2017, a group of volunteers began gathering each week at an atlanta synagogue to pack food for the hungry. they partnered with a local elementary school, who identified 10 students dependent on the school's free breakfast and lunch program. every friday, the group delivered backpacks filled with non-perishable food to the school guidance counselor, who discreetly sent those 10 children home with enough food to last them through the weekend. word spread and more volunteers got involved. so backpack buddies expanded, nourishing dozens more schoolchildren across atlanta who were food insecure on weekends. by early 2022, when backpack buddies of metro atlanta received its 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit organization, hundreds of volunteers at 19 churches, synagogues, senior centers, and other community agencies in metro atlanta were packing and delivering food every week to 27 local elementary schools - providing meals for 785 children! as backpack buddies continues to grow, so does ou