When 31 Backpacks launched in the Keweenaw Peninsula, it packed food for 31 students. Today, the nonprofit serves about 250 students across the Copper Country and the numbers continue to rise.
The program works with the Copper Country Intermediate School District to support students who need food on weekends. Melissa Maki, president of 31 Backpacks, has guided the nonprofit since its founding.
The number of students who need help varies from week to week.
“It varies between one and four and one and five. We’ve always been hovering around that amount of children who are at risk for going without food,” Maki said. “During the time that they’re in school, they are provided with free or discounted meals and snacks, but what happens on the weekends when they’re away from that? And, again, during winter break and spring break. So those are the gaps that we fill.”
Maki said community support has been a source of pride for the program, from volunteers and partners to donors. The challenge, she said, is the steady rise in need.
For a time, the program’s growth came from adding schools. After cuts to SNAP benefits in 2025, the program grew 10 to 15 percent, depending on the school district.
“That has not gone away. In fact, I’m collecting numbers for the weekly pack right now and we’re up again. Usually almost every week we are up. Maybe it’s one, maybe it’s two, maybe it’s three, but week after week after week for 47 weeks out of the year, that adds up when you come down to what the numbers are and what the costs are,” Maki said.
Maki said grants and large donations have helped the program in the past, but those funds only last so long. When 31 Backpacks joined Copper Shores Community Health Foundation’s Giving Tuesday, it gained the ability to plan further ahead. The campaign supports healthy outcomes across the western Upper Peninsula and often brings nonprofits their largest influx of funds of the year.
Maki said the campaign’s tools have also been a major help.
“You know, having to not reinvent the wheel is an unbelievable resource for us. They have the graphics, they have the wording. Everything is just, the packaging is just ready to go, and you just need to get it out to your supporters and out to the media and let people know that it’s coming up. But that is not my background at all, coming up with that sort of thing. So we greatly appreciate the effort that they put into this and making these tools available for all the organizations to get the message out,” Maki said.
The tools and confidence Copper Shores has helped build across the nonprofit community have taught more organizations how to connect with regular supporters. The program’s connections have also helped 31 Backpacks recruit volunteers who can help write competitive grant applications. Grant hunting is a constant task.
“Well, we’re constantly searching for grants that are available and writing those grants. In fact, I’m working with one of our volunteers today to write a grant. But it’s the randomness of, there’s not like a collection point where here’s where you go to find some funding for you. You have to constantly be on the lookout for those funds being available. And they pop up here and there throughout the year. And you just have to always have your radar on for that sort of thing,” Maki said.
Last year, Giving Tuesday raised a record amount for the campaign, topping $1.1 million overall. Copper Shores has opened the Giving Tuesday portal, letting individuals and businesses near and far donate to close to 70 nonprofits in the western Upper Peninsula.
Readers can find more details about 31 Backpacks on the program’s website. They can donate to 2026 causes through Copper Shores Community Health Foundation’s Giving Tuesday campaign and follow the My UP News and Keweenaw Report Giving Tuesday Spotlight Series for more coverage.
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