FAQs

One bag of food includes meal items, fresh fruit, veggies and snacks. There is enough food to last the entire weekend and beyond. We work hard to ensure that most items in our bags are ready-to-eat, largely non-perishable in case a child doesn’t have access to a fridge, and familiar to kids. 

It costs $25 to fill a bag. Each bag contains enough meal items plus fresh fruit, veggies and snacks to last a child the entire weekend and beyond.

The majority of the food we provide in our bags is purchased from our food partners Save On Foods and Sysco. We use our strong buying power to purchase the food at cost or less. We supplement this by purchasing through food rescue companies such as FoodMesh. We also have wonderful supplier partnerships with generous companies like FreeYumm, who contribute in-kind donations to our program.

We pack our food in reusable, non-branded, non-woven fiber bags every Friday before they go home. These bags are unlabeled so we can provide support discretely to kids.

During the summer and school holidays, children can lose access to the meal programs they rely on. In 2026, we are launching our Schools’ Out program to help fill this gap — providing weekly hampers for families with the greatest need and weekend bags for children who need extra support. We work with schools and community partners to ensure food reaches children in ways that are practical, flexible, and consistent.

Our trucks and transportation partners drive through Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island, the Interior of BC, Northern BC and the Sunshine Coast delivering bags of food to recipient schools. The deliveries are met by a school representative who takes them to a discrete location for distribution to students as they head home on Friday afternoons.

Currently, Backpack Buddies works with school districts across BC to distribute bags. If your child attends school in one of the following districts, please connect with an administrator or teacher at the school to find out if the program is available. Your school administrator will contact Backpack Buddies to facilitate signup and distribution. If your child attends school in a district not listed below, please contact us here.

• SD 39: Vancouver
• SD 44: North Vancouver
• SD 36: Surrey
• SD 41: Burnaby
• SD 35: Langley
• SD 43: Coquitlam
• SD 38: Richmond
• SD 61: Greater Victoria
• SD 62: Sooke
• SD 63: Saanich
• SD 68: Nanaimo Ladysmith
• SD 71: Comox Valley
• SD 85: Port Hardy
• SD 46: Sunshine Coast
• SD 84: Vancouver Island West
• SD 72: Campbell River
• SD 82: Coast Mountains
• SD 8: Kootenay Lake
• SD 20: Kootenay-Columbia
• SD 5: Southeast Kootenay
• SD 6: Rocky Mountain
• SD 78: Fraser Cascade
• SD 53: Okanagan Similkameen
• SD 67: Okanagan Skaha
• SD 48: Sea to Sky
• SD 60: Peace River North
• SD 57: Prince George

If you’re new to Backpack Buddies and want to sign your school up for food deliveries, click the button below and fill out our form to request bags.

Need more bags? Feel like you’re getting too many? No worries – we are happy to adjust your delivery. Please click the button below to be in touch with Lorraine, our Director of Food Access.

Yes! We would love to have you join us as a donor. You can make a donation online by clicking the button below, or you can mail us a cheque (made out to Backpack Buddies) to our office at 170 Harbour Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7J 2E6. We will issue you a charitable tax receipt for your donation.

Absolutely! To make a gift of securities, please visit our Canada Helps page by clicking the button below and select the “Donate Securities” tab.

Our financial statements and annual reports are available for you on our governance page.

Our program wouldn’t be possible without our incredible community of volunteers! We offer both individual and corporate volunteer opportunities.

Absolutely! Through our Pack and Give Back program, we offer our corporate donors the opportunity to bring their team to our North Vancouver warehouse to pack our weekly food bags and learn more about childhood hunger across BC.