Every $100 we raise helps us feed a child every weekend for an entire month in 2026.
Because of supporters like you, we added 800 more children to our weekend meal program in 2025. We now reach 6,800 kids every Friday with all the food they need to fill their tummies for the weekend.
We expanded to more schools and more communities, reaching kids in 80 urban and rural communities throughout BC – that’s over 225,000 bags of food with 1.8 million meals a year for hungry children.
But our work is not done yet. The ever-increasing cost of rent, household expenses, and groceries continues to create an affordability crisis, and it has hit children the hardest.
The children we serve depend on school meals Monday through Friday. But often on weekends food is not guaranteed, and for thousands of children in BC, it means going to bed hungry on Friday and counting down the hours until Monday’s school breakfast.
Backpack Buddies fills this gap by providing food for the weekend: bags containing 8 ready-to-eat meals plus snacks and fresh produce are tucked into backpacks as kids head home every Friday.
Schools quietly identify students who need help, volunteers fill the bags of food in our warehouses, and delivery trucks transport thousands of bags of food to more than 400 BC schools every week.
Every $100 we raise covers one child’s meals for an entire month—and will help us reach even more children in 2026.
Please donate today. Every donation means a child who would otherwise go hungry has the certainty that food is coming.
Backpack Buddies
Born in North Vancouver in 2012, Backpack Buddies is now a province-wide team with thousands of parents, teachers, truck drivers, donors, volunteers, food producers, and partners who are stepping up to make sure BC’s most vulnerable children don’t have to worry about empty cupboards at home.
From our warehouses in North Vancouver and Victoria, we source food, marshal hundreds of volunteers to pack bags of food, and work hand-in-hand with schools so every child’s food delivery is discreetly and stigma free.
Your Impact
Your donation brings us closer to our goal to feed 6,800 children this year – 800 more than last school year.
Every online donation goes towards:
Food
hearty meals, fresh fruit & veggies, milk, nutritious snacks, and more – easily accessible food for growing kids.
Logistics & Transportation
869,863 pounds of food moved through our warehouses and on our trucks last year
School & Community Outreach
building our network of Buddies so more kids get the food they need
Support Backpack Buddies
Every gift brings us one step closer to ensuring every hungry child in BC has the food they need to learn and grow
Become a Monthly Donor
Provide food for a child that they can count on every weekend all year, giving them the stability they need to thrive.
Give MonthlyGive One Time
Every gift matters! Your one time donation today fills children’s backpack with all the food they need for the weekend.
Donate NowFrequently Asked Questions
From our perspective, all of it does. When you make a $25 donation, $13 pays for food; $7.35 pays for the warehouse, vehicles, and people that get the food into the hands of children; $4.15 helps to engage with schools and the community so we can help even more children; and $0.50 makes sure we fulfill our responsibilities like providing tax receipts and managing our finances properly. We make sure that every dollar provides food security for children in our program today and helps us reach more children across BC every year.
Yes! Our Canadian charitable number is: 837443233 RR0001. We are officially called Community First Foundation and we do business as Backpack Buddies.
Yes you can. On the donation form, simply choose the region from the drop-down menu and your donation will provide food for children in that area.
At any time you can reach our Donor Relations team to adjust your monthly gift at info@backpackbuddies.ca or 604-807-0347. We are here to help. Or, if you still have the original email you received after joining the Friday Club, follow the “Cancel Your Gift” link to simply stop your monthly transactions.