Mission Statement

To provide nutritious food to children and alleviate hunger in our community through education and connections to community resources.

In 2009, Wiley Middle School registrar Karen Faulkner discovered that there were children in her school eating little to no food on the weekends. Starting small, with just a handful of students, she began to send food home in backpacks. What began as a whisper of love has blossomed into a district wide program through Student Charities. To date, we have sent home over 81,000 bags of food in backpacks across Leander ISD. Our program allows students to enjoy their time away from school without having to worry about grumbling tummies.

We officially became a 501(c)(3) organization in 2013 and look forward to the continued growth of the LISD Backpack Food Program and the addition of new services for the community. Student Charities is led by a dedicated and passionate volunteer board of directors and receives support from individuals and groups across the community. Since 2009, Student Charities has logged over 45,000 hours of volunteer service. Individuals who are interested in taking an active, on-going role with the program are always welcome!

 We are honored to have the 18+ Transition Teams serving the LISD Backpack Food Program. Working together these student teams create recipes, plan meals, shop for food, stock our pantry, pack our food bags and deliver to our schools, serving our families facing food insecurity. They are learning valuable work skills and life skills, in a safe and dignified environment. We are so proud of these amazing teams.

Mission Statement

To provide nutritious food to children and alleviate hunger in our community through education and connection to community resources.