Backpack pals

PASS Burnaby is delighted to be volunteering with Maywood Community School as part of their Backpack Buddies program.

Many children facing food insecurity go without enough to eat—or without any food at all—over the weekend. Every week, Backpack Buddies delivers bags of food to thousands of B.C.’s most vulnerable children, ensuring they have the meals and snacks they need to get through the weekend.

Backpack Buddies supports over 6,000 hungry children each week by working with educators, administrators, social workers, and other non-profits.

In April, Casey, Abbie, and Thomas began volunteering with Backpack Buddies, helping prepare the food bags—and they’ve done a fantastic job.

Their shift begins by labeling each bag with the recipient’s name and classroom. After labeling 38 bags of non-perishable food, they organize them by classroom number and location.

At 12:25 p.m., when the students go out for recess, Abbie, Thomas, and Casey begin delivering the bags to each classroom, following instructions on where to place them. It’s a big job that includes pushing a cart up and down a key-operated elevator and delivering to outdoor portable classrooms.

We’re proud to be part of this meaningful work and feel happy knowing that these students will have something to eat when they go home.