Woman smiling and holding a red shopping bag inside a grocery store or food pantry with shelves of canned goods and boxes in the background.

It all began with recognizing a need.

The Bremerton Backpack Brigade began in 2010 when Rhiannon Lawson, a teacher at Naval Avenue Elementary School, noticed students taking extra food from the cafeteria.

Recognizing their unmet nutritional needs, Ms. Lawson and her team initiated a program, starting with eight students, to send home backpacks of nutritious food every Friday.

Around the same time, Myra Battin and Ann Horn, along with volunteers from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, began a similar program at Armin Jahr Elementary School.

Seeing the need, these efforts merged, forming the Bremerton Backpack Brigade, a nonprofit with a mission to meet the basic needs of children so they can learn.

Two women standing beside a large poster promoting Kitsap Great Give event on May 3, 2016, with the slogan 'Give Where Your Heart Is.'

With community support, the Brigade expanded to serve more schools, reaching all six Bremerton Elementary Schools by 2015, and later adding Catalyst Charter School. Thanks to partnerships and donations, the Brigade ensures families have access to fresh, nutritious food.

Through ongoing partnerships with local organizations and businesses, the Brigade responds to emergency calls for families in crisis, ensuring no child in Bremerton suffers from food insecurity over the weekend. Thanks to the caring actions of the community, these children can start their Mondays ready to learn and thrive.