Backpack Buddies Receives $75,000 in Support
August 2026
For thousands of children across Metro Atlanta, the school week comes with access to breakfast and lunch. But when the school bell rings on Friday afternoon, that reliable source of nutrition can disappear for the weekend.
That is the gap Backpack Buddies of Metro Atlanta was created to address.
Today, the organization is seeing that mission strengthened by an expanding network of businesses, nonprofits, faith communities, volunteers and individual supporters who are stepping forward to help ensure children have nutritious food when school is not in session.
Among the organization's most recent supporters is the Coldwell Banker Realty Cares Foundation, which has committed $75,000 to Backpack Buddies of Metro Atlanta and will serve as the presenting sponsor of the organization's 2026 Starry Nights Gala.
The announcement comes as Backpack Buddies continues to expand its reach across the region and work toward a simple goal: making sure no child has to face the weekend without enough food.
A $75,000 Investment in the Fight Against Weekend Hunger
The Coldwell Banker Realty Cares Foundation's $75,000 contribution will help Backpack Buddies provide nutritious weekend meals to children experiencing food insecurity across Metro Atlanta.
In addition to its financial support, the Foundation has also been involved as a Community Buddy, demonstrating how corporate partnerships can extend beyond financial contributions and become hands-on community engagement.
The Foundation will also serve as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 Starry Nights Gala, taking place Saturday, August 29, at Dunwoody Country Club.
The annual event brings together community members, businesses and philanthropic partners to raise funds supporting Backpack Buddies' weekend meal program.
For Backpack Buddies, support like this represents more than a single donation. It provides the resources needed to continue purchasing, preparing and distributing food to children throughout the school year.
From 10 Backpacks to Thousands of Children
Backpack Buddies began in 2017 with a small group of volunteers who wanted to help children experiencing hunger over the weekend.
The original program served just 10 children at one elementary school, with volunteers packing bags of nonperishable food that could be discreetly placed into students' backpacks before they left school for the weekend.
That grassroots effort has grown into a regional nonprofit operation.
Backpack Buddies became a 501(c)(3) organization in 2022. By the 2025–2026 school year, the organization was providing weekend meals to 2,625 children across 53 Metro Atlanta schools, supported by hundreds of volunteers and 34 Community Buddy organizations.
In April 2025, Backpack Buddies also celebrated another major milestone: delivering its 1 millionth meal to a child in need.
Filling the Weekend Hunger Gap
Backpack Buddies' approach is designed around a simple problem: children who receive meals through school programs may not have the same access to food once school is closed.
Each weekend food package contains shelf-stable, kid-friendly foods designed to provide children with meals and snacks they can easily prepare and eat at home.
The organization's current program includes a combination of proteins and mains, vegetables, breakfasts, fruits, snacks and drinks.
The impact can be difficult to capture through statistics alone.
A child featured in the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta's coverage of Backpack Buddies described the difference simply: before receiving weekend food, siblings had to divide up which day each would eat; with Backpack Buddies, they could both eat throughout the weekend.
That is the purpose behind the program not simply putting food into a backpack, but helping remove one of the barriers that can affect a child's health, well-being and ability to return to school ready to learn.
Community Partnerships Make the Model Possible
Backpack Buddies' growth has been powered by more than individual donations.
The organization works with Community Buddies, including churches, synagogues, civic organizations and other community groups. These partners can adopt schools and help pack and distribute weekend food to students.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta has also supported Backpack Buddies through its JInnovate grant, providing both financial resources and access to capacity-building opportunities. In one example, Federation staff stepped in to pack 150 food bags for students at Brockett Elementary School in Tucker when additional support was urgently needed.
That kind of partnership reflects an important part of the Backpack Buddies model: organizations don't have to tackle childhood hunger alone.
Businesses can provide financial or volunteer support.
Faith communities and civic organizations can become Community Buddies. Individuals can volunteer their time or make a donation.
Together, those contributions create a system capable of reaching children throughout Metro Atlanta.
Businesses Are Helping Build a Stronger Community
The growing number of corporate and nonprofit partnerships also demonstrates how businesses can contribute to their communities in meaningful ways.
The Coldwell Banker Realty Cares Foundation is one example. Its relationship with Backpack Buddies has included both financial contributions and participation as a Community Buddy, while its latest $75,000 commitment will help sustain the organization's work and support the 2026 Starry Nights Gala.
Other organizations have also shared Backpack Buddies' story and helped raise awareness.
Cingo recently highlighted the organization's evolution from 10 backpacks to serving thousands of children, emphasizing the role volunteers and community organizations play in addressing weekend food insecurity.
These partnerships help Backpack Buddies reach more children while giving community members tangible ways to participate in the solution.
There Are Many Ways to Help
The need for weekend meals does not disappear when the school year gets busy and neither does the opportunity to help.
Backpack Buddies offers several ways for individuals, businesses and community organizations to get involved.
Financial contributions help Backpack Buddies purchase the food needed to serve children throughout the school year.
The organization reports that a $250 donation can provide weekend meals for one child for the school year, making recurring and one-time gifts important sources of support.
Volunteers support everything from food inventory and warehouse operations to packing, loading and delivering orders to Community Buddies.
Backpack Buddies' volunteer program operates from its Dunwoody warehouse, with regular school-year shifts available.
Organizations can also become Community Buddies and help adopt schools, gather volunteers and distribute weekend meals to students.
The program is designed to allow community organizations to make a direct local impact while Backpack Buddies provides the food and infrastructure needed to make the program work.
Businesses, schools and community groups can organize food drives to raise awareness and collect needed items while engaging their own communities in the fight against childhood hunger. Backpack Buddies provides resources and support to make food drives easier to organize.
A Community Moving Toward a Common Goal
From a program that began with 10 backpacks to an organization serving thousands of children across dozens of Metro Atlanta schools, Backpack Buddies has grown because people have chosen to act.
The $75,000 commitment from the Coldwell Banker Realty Cares Foundation is another important investment in that mission. The support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Cingo and many other community partners demonstrates another truth: solving childhood hunger requires more than one organization.
It requires a community.
Every meal packed, every volunteer shift completed, every dollar donated and every organization that chooses to become a Community Buddy moves Metro Atlanta closer to a future where children can spend their weekends being children — not worrying about where their next meal will come from.
Because hunger doesn't take the weekend off.