Backpack Program

We Take Care of Our Community

The West Lafayette Backpack Program operates solely on your donations and grants to keep this program going. The cost of one backpack full of food for a week is $6.00.

The West Lafayette Backpack Program has been blessed by generous donors, and time and again, our donors help to feed every student who qualifies for free and reduced lunch, per federal guidelines, in our school system. Additionally, through the generosity of our donors, our volunteers are able to pack additional nutritious snacks, such as apples, and we are also able to provide food for the whole family, including pasta and sauce, meal essentials, and pies for the holiday season.

The West Lafayette Backpack Program is unique in that bags are delivered to the homes of the recipients. Each week, one or two volunteers will pack the bags and wheel the carts of food to the pick-up point. A second group of volunteers retrieve the bags to deliver to recipients' homes around the community. In the summer, boxes of food are delivered every few weeks by a West Lafayette school resource officer. We're proud to provide food through the Backpack Program year round.

The Backpack Program closet is dedicated to and named for Erwin Kretzmeier, a retired chemistry teacher from Lafayette Jefferson High School and longtime West Lafayette Backpack Program volunteer. "Kretzmeier Closet" houses the food and supplies for the Backpack Program. Known for his sense of humor and organizational skills, Mr. Kretzmeier's presence is still felt by current volunteers through the notes he left in the program's closet. His impact on fellow volunteers lives on today.

The West Lafayette Schools Education Foundation is grateful to each volunteer and donor who shares their time and resources with the Backpack Program!