Be a Hunger Hero for Students in Sterling
Together, We Can Make Sure No Child in Sterling Goes Hungry
Every weekend, more than 300 students in Sterling schools rely on the Hunger Response Team of Sterling (HRTS) for weekend food bags filled with easy-to-prepare meals and snacks. These Backpack Buddies help bridge the gap when school meals aren’t available, ensuring children have nourishment, stability, and hope.
This Giving Tuesday, your generosity fills weekend bags and warms hearts. $12 a week feeds one child for the entire school year.
Our goal:
Sponsor 50 students for the
2025–26 school year.
HRTS is a 100% volunteer-powered nonprofit serving children and families in Sterling, Virginia. Your gift provides weekend meals, warm coats, and care for students who need it most.
Sponsor a Child Today
Your donation helps feed and support students in Sterling schools.
Every dollar stays local, meeting hunger with heart.
It takes $500 to feed one child for a full school year, about $12 a week.
Your gift provides more than food. It offers dignity, consistency, and care to local families who are working hard but still struggling to fill their pantries.
-
$12 feeds a child for a week
-
$50 feeds a child for a month
-
$500 sponsors a student for the school year
Every dollar stays in Sterling, serving students at our partner schools.
Your Gift Makes a Difference
When you give to HRTS, you’re not just filling bags, you’re filling hearts.
Weekend Meals: Nourishment for 300+ Students
Each week, volunteers deliver Backpack Buddies food bags to students every week to the following schools: Potowmack E.S., Rolling Ridge E.S., Sully E.S., Horizon E.S., Algonkian, E.S., River Bend M.S., Potomac Falls H.S., helping them stay fed, focused, and ready to learn.
Winter Coats: Warmth for 400+ Students
Our annual Winter Coat Drive provides new coats for hundreds of Sterling students, helping them stay warm, confident, and cared for throughout the winter months.
Together, these programs meet hunger and hardship with compassion and action, because no child should go without food or warmth in our community.
Real Stories. Real Impact.
"A student in one of our Sterling schools lost her father not long ago. Her grandmother is now her primary caregiver and works weekends to make ends meet. She shared that knowing her granddaughter receives a bag of easy-to-prepare meals and snacks each week helps relieve some of the stress she feels. She tells her granddaughter to eat from the bag while she’s at work and is deeply grateful to know she has food to eat each weekend."
- School Parent Liaison, Sterling, VA
“As someone who’s delivered the bags to classrooms, watching kids light up when they take their bags home is so special. Knowing they may not have much more than what’s given each week makes this work incredibly meaningful.”
- River Bend Middle School Volunteer
“The food HRTS sends is accessible and easy to prepare, so students can feel secure even when their parents are working. Having food over the weekend gives them peace of mind knowing they’ll have meals they can count on.”
-Sterling School Staff Member
.jpg)
“The students receiving Backpack Buddies feel seen, supported, and nourished, and they learn more effectively after weekends with food supplies.”
-Horizon Elementary Volunteer
Your gift makes stories like these possible.
The Need is Growing
Rising food prices and uncertainty have made life harder for many families in Sterling. The number of students relying on weekend meals continues to grow every month.
With your help, HRTS can keep pace with that growing need and ensure that every child has food to eat, warmth to wear, and the reassurance that their community cares.
There’s Still Time to Be a Hunger Hero and Meet Hunger with Heart
Help us reach our goal of sponsoring 50 students this Giving Tuesday.
More than 1 in 4 school children in Loudoun County are food insecure.
